


Give Up The Fight

by OzQueen



Series: It Don't Come Easy [1]
Category: Captain Planet and the Planeteers
Genre: Angst, Betrayal, Episode Related, F/M, Friendship, Friendship/Love, High School, Sex, Sexual Content, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-08-29
Updated: 2010-08-29
Packaged: 2017-10-11 07:57:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 48,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/110154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OzQueen/pseuds/OzQueen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Planeteers take on a mission that threatens to tear them apart forever.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. New Mission

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is based on the episode 'Teers in the Hood, but I don't think you need to have seen it in order to read this. I'm hopeful it all makes sense without the need to watch the episode!
> 
> Some of the names and events have been changed – I'm warning you now so you don't get disappointed later and think to yourself "But that's not how it happened in the episode!" ;-)
> 
> I really wanted to try a fic where the Planeteers were forced to communicate together and use their own thinking instead of relying on their powers. As a result, Captain Planet doesn't appear in this story.
> 
> I also quite liked the fact the Planeteers were very split up in this episode – they were quite isolated from one another and had to act against one another (or at least pretend to) sometimes in order to keep each other safe.
> 
> This fic contains adult themes and situations, including coarse language, violence, and sex scenes. If you're likely to be offended by any of this, please use your best judgement when deciding whether or not to follow this story.
> 
> The chapters of this story average between 3,000 and 5,000 words, so as a result, it won't be updated as regularly as my past fics have been.
> 
> I always appreciate comments, so please do let me know what you think of each chapter and encourage me to keep writing with feedback and reviews. :-)
> 
> The title is taken from the Patty Griffin song Rain.

_It's hard to know when to give up the fight_

_The things you want that will never be right_

_It's never rained like it has tonight, before_

 

 

xXx__

_   
_

Gi clutched the letter in her hand as she stared out across the ocean. The others had left her to mournful daydreaming, chatting quietly and keeping themselves entertained as the geo-cruiser flew steadily onwards.

She unfolded the letter for what could have been the hundredth time that morning.

_Dear Gi,_

_I am writing to you on behalf of my brother, David King, whom you met when he joined your parents' research project in Busan. Of course, David returned to America shortly after he arrived, to teach history and geography to high school students._

_The school David teaches at now is located on the divide of two gang territories. He has spoken to me often about his despair regarding the students and their violent ways and attitudes. _

_The other night, David attempted to rescue a student by driving through a storm of gunfire. He was shot in the chest and crashed his car into a wall. He is now in a critical condition in hospital._

_I know it is a lot to ask of you, but David has spoken often of you and your friends, the Planeteers, and I am hopeful you could come and attempt a peaceful reconciliation between the two gangs at the high school. _

_I am unsure of how to reach you by telephone, but my details are provided on the back of the page. Please get in touch._

_Regards, _

_Brian King.  
_

Gi folded the letter again. She wished the geo-cruiser could go faster. She was suddenly terrified that they would land and Brian would be waiting for them with a message that David had died during the night.

She slumped down in her seat a little, remembering the first time she had met David. He had been a university student then, and she couldn't have been more than eight or nine. He had arrived in her parents laboratory, eager to learn, and passionate – but not entirely sure what particular direction of study he wanted to follow.

She had listened, hovering in the doorway of the kitchen that first evening of his arrival as her parents poured tea and cleared away the remnants of their evening meal. David had admitted to them that he was still exploring his options. He had thought, even then, that teaching was possibly an area he wished to explore, but the opportunity of studying with Gi's parents had been too good to pass up.

Incredulous that someone was thinking about passing up the ocean and its creatures for books, Gi had stepped forward.

"I can show you my friend, Kisa," she had said, fully-confident in expressing herself in English and feeling very bold all of a sudden.

Her mother had turned in alarm. "Gi, it's time for you to get ready for bed," she had said. "This is time for the adults to talk."

"Kisa's a dolphin," Gi had explained, ignoring her mother and sitting in the chair opposite David. "You should learn about her. It's more fun than teaching."

"Bed!" her father had demanded. "Right now."

David had grinned at her and waved as Gi was led away to her bedroom by her mother. She had smiled and waved back, and whenever she had seen him from that point on, he had made special efforts to ask her questions about her favourite animals and what she wanted to be when she grew up.

She smiled at the memory of him tolerating her when she had acted so demanding of his attention. She supposed her nine-year-old self had been a little in love with him, desperate to keep him around and have him working alongside her parents so she could talk to him and ask him questions about America and what he was studying at the time.

But after a few months he had apologised, telling Gi's family that he had decided to return to America and teach after all. Gi's heart had withered a little – especially when he told her he wasn't even going to teach marine biology, but boring, dried-up old subjects like history.

He had stayed in touch, though. He had sent her and her parents many letters over the years, with photographs and details of what he was doing. He had managed to make it sound exciting, though she couldn't help but harbour a little bitterness towards him after he'd turned his back on the study of marine biology. Still, she had kept all of his letters, and had written back to him each time with her own stories and dreams. She had told him what had happened to Kisa after the smelter had been built nearby, and he had responded by sending her a stuffed dolphin from SeaWorld.

She had put the plush dolphin (she had secretly named him David) into her suitcase as the Planeteers had packed their bags earlier that morning. They were flying to David's school, enrolling as new students in an attempt to ease the violence from the inside. None of them had hesitated when Gi had told them what she required of them.

Well – there had been a _little_ hesitation.

"I can't believe we're goin' back to school," Wheeler was moaning at that moment. "I hated school."

Linka sighed wearily. "So you have said," she answered. "96 times since leaving Hope Island!"

"96 is a bit of an exaggeration," Wheeler said, craning his neck around to look at her. "Maybe you do need to go back to school, babe. Take some more math classes."

"No, I think she is right, Wheeler," Ma-Ti answered. "It seems like 96 times to me, as well."

"Still plenty of time to get to 100," Wheeler said, grinning at Linka.

She rolled her eyes and opened her book again. "I hope I am not put into any of your classes, Yankee."

"I hope I'm in _all_ of your classes," he said, ignoring the fact she was trying to ignore him. "I'm hoping to copy all of your homework."

Linka spluttered indignantly and Wheeler started to laugh.

"With any luck, we will not be there long," Kwame said.

"I dunno, man," Wheeler said, shifting his attention from Linka for a moment. "It's gonna take something pretty special for these kids to listen to us. We're the new kids and they're pretty set in their ways."

"Lucky we are pretty special ourselves," Ma-Ti said confidently. "I am sure we can do it. And we will find out who shot Gi's friend, as well."

Gi smiled weakly at him. At that moment she was finding it hard to feel confident.

xXx

"It must be around here somewhere," Gi said, peering through the front windows of the geo-cruiser.

"Down there!" Kwame said suddenly, pointing.

"There's Brian," Gi confirmed, nodding. "Land down there. He said we can keep the geo-cruiser in his storage garage. It'll be out of sight there, and safe."

"Safe," Ma-Ti muttered, rubbing his temples. "This is not a safe neighbourhood."

Linka leaned towards the Heart Planeteer worriedly. "Are you all right, Ma-Ti?"

"Just a headache," he mumbled, leaning back in his seat. "It will pass."

Kwame landed the geo-cruiser beside the row of storage garages. It was mid-morning and misty drizzle started to fall as the Planeteers exited the geo-cruiser.

Brian held up his hand in greeting, and smiled when his eyes settled on Gi.

"You must be Gi," he said, shaking her hand. "It's nice to finally meet you."

"And you," she answered, smiling at him. "How's David?"

"The same, I'm afraid."

She nodded, and then set about introducing everyone.

"It's nice to meet you all," he said warmly. "You can store your craft in there – it'll be a tight fit, but if the measurements Gi sent me are correct, it'll fit."

"They're correct," Kwame said with a smile. "Trust me – she is never wrong with things like that."

Gi rolled her eyes with a smile and they waited as Kwame gradually piloted the geo-cruiser towards the storage shed, Wheeler directing him with improvised hand motions.

"_Bozhe moy, _Wheeler!" Linka cried, pushing him out of the way. "You are going to steer Kwame to Hong Kong if you do not look out." She eventually managed to steer Kwame straight. The geo-cruiser fit snugly into the garage – though Kwame had to use the escape hatch in the floor to get out.

"Well," Brian said, clapping his hands together once everyone was together again, "From what I can understand, I have nothing to worry about now the Planeteers are here!"

They all smiled nervously.

"I hope not," Gi said. "We haven't ever had a mission like this before, though. We're usually dealing with environmental disasters and pollution."

"Well, you're dealing with pollution here, too," Brian said, taking Linka's suitcase for her. She smiled at him, ignoring the look on Wheeler's face.

"It's just a different sort of pollution," Brian continued, leading the way. "Hatred and violence hang thick in the air of these neighbourhoods."

Ma-Ti nodded, looking pale. "I can feel it," he whispered to Kwame. "I have never felt something like this. People are afraid..."

"Don't connect to it, little buddy," Wheeler said sympathetically.

Ma-Ti shook his head. "I have not used my power yet."

Kwame frowned, feeling very worried all of a sudden. He hung back a little, letting Brian stride away with Linka and Gi either side of him. Wheeler scowled.

"Ma-Ti," Kwame asked softly, "I feel weak, too." He clenched his fist and felt only a faint surge of adrenaline down his arm. His ring glowed feebly.

"We are going to need a plan b," Ma-Ti said. "I do not think we can rely on our powers, here."

"So if things get out of hand, no Captain Planet?" Wheeler asked in alarm.

Ma-Ti shrugged. "At least, not around here."

Kwame sighed and hefted his bag on his shoulder. "I cannot see things improving as we get closer to the gang territories." He led the way and Wheeler and Ma-Ti hurried after him, feeling increasingly anxious.

xXx

"I'll warn you now, it's not much," Brian said, sounding a little worried. "I bought this place a few years ago when the crime rate dropped and the neighbourhood looked like it was going to improve. But, it didn't, so here I am, stuck with a house I'm never going to renovate, let alone live in."

The Planeteers peered out of the windows of Brian's van. Through the rain, the house loomed up at them, leaning a little crookedly and looking beaten and sad. The paint was peeling, and one of the side windows was boarded up. A tree stood bare and sickly-looking in the front yard, surrounded by clumps of rough grass and dirt, which was turning to mud thanks to the steady downfall of rain.

"There are only four bedrooms," Brian apologised, turning the engine off.

"That's okay," Gi answered. "Linka and I will share."

Linka nodded in agreement, and they all grabbed their bags and hurried for the porch. The boards creaked and groaned under their feet, and Wheeler glanced down worriedly.

"Er, how much weight can this thing bear?" he asked.

"I don't think you'll plummet through it anytime soon," Brian assured him with a smile. "But I wouldn't go bouncing around on it."

He keyed the door open and ushered them all in.

"Kitchen and dining to your right," he said pointing. "Living room to the left, and there's a bathroom tucked back behind the stairs. The basement's down here –" He knocked on a door on the way past, "– but there's not much down there but old furniture. Another bathroom, and the bedrooms, are upstairs. It looks a bit crummy, I'm afraid."

"We'll make do," Gi assured him. "It's fine, really."

Brian nodded and handed them each a key. "I wouldn't walk around here alone," he warned. "You're not far from Clayton's territory, and from what I can understand, he's the leader of one of the gangs involved in the shootout David interrupted."

"What can you tell us about the other gang?" Gi asked.

"They call themselves The Wrecking Crew – led by a kid known as Main Dog," Brian said, giving them a wry smile. "David thinks he's a little more reluctant to get violent – mainly because he's got a kid brother, Ronnie."

"What are they fighting about?" Kwame asked.

Brian shrugged. "The latest rivalry seems to stem from the fact Ronnie is dating Clayton's sister, Julie. Clayton doesn't like this. I think Julie's suffered a few black eyes from Clayton because of it, but she refuses to leave her relationship with Main Dog's brother. Clayton thinks the best way to deal with it is by wiping the other gang out."

"Oh this should be a piece of cake," Wheeler muttered. Linka elbowed him sharply in the ribs.

"Anyway, if you _are_ forced to wander around alone, go out the back door and cut across Mrs. Medina's back yard. She knows you're here and she doesn't mind you cutting through her yard to get to the next street over. It's safer, and better lit."

"Thanks, Brian," Gi said.

"Sure. I'll be in touch through phone calls, and if you ever need to visit me, you have my address. It's a few miles away, but you can get there on the bus." He checked his watch. "Anyway, if you don't mind, I want to get over to the hospital before visiting hours are over. Did you want to come, Gi?"

Gi looked torn. "I do, but I think we need to talk about tomorrow," she said, glancing towards the other Planeteers.

"You should see your friend," Linka said immediately. "We will unpack and we can talk when you get back."

"Go and see David," Ma-Ti agreed.

Gi smiled gratefully at them and shrugged at Brian. "Guess I'm coming with you, then."

xXx

Gi bit her fingernails, staring down at David. He looked thin, and his hair was starting to grey already, though he was only in his early thirties. A bandage hid what she imagined to be an ugly, stitched wound on his forehead. More bandages ran around his chest, hiding the bullet wound which had nearly cost him his life.

"They're not sure when he'll wake up," Brian said quietly. "The head wound he received in the crash is pretty nasty. The bullet only just missed his heart, so they're willing to let him recover a little more before he wakes and puts further stress on his body."

Gi just nodded numbly. "It's strange," she said slowly. "He could only have been 20 or 21 when I saw him last. I was just a little girl, but he was so nice to me. I feel like I owe him something – like he's been looking after me for so long I need to repay him somehow."

"This is just a favour, Gi," Brian said. "You don't owe him anything. If it gets too difficult or too dangerous, stop. I don't want to put you through anything that's too much for you. David wouldn't want that, either."

"It's okay," Gi said softly. "How long can we stay with him?"

"Another twenty minutes or so."

She nodded, and sat at David's bedside.

xXx

Linka folded the last t-shirt and placed it on top of the others, closing the drawer neatly. She had unpacked her own suitcase before deciding to unpack Gi's as well. She'd discovered the stuffed dolphin, a little ragged and worn and obviously well-loved. She'd placed it on Gi's pillow with a smile.

She stretched and checked her watch. Gi shouldn't be too much longer.

She sank into the lumpy mattress on her bed with her book, but left it resting on her chest, deciding to daydream for a while first. She couldn't seem to shake a sick sort of unease, which had settled over her as soon as she'd left the geo-cruiser. She clenched her right hand and watched her ring glow weakly. She doubted she could summon more than a gentle breeze – the usual feeling of power and energy seemed absent in her arm.

"Hey."

Linka jumped, and looked up. "You are back already?" she asked.

Gi nodded and sank onto the end of her bed. "Visiting hours are over for a while. I can go back later, if I want, but there's not much I can do."

"How is he?" Linka asked, discarding her book and sitting next to Gi.

Gi shrugged, and her eyes glimmered with tears. "It looks bad, to me," she sniffed. "Brian says his condition hasn't changed in days."

"I am sure things will be okay, Gi," Linka said comfortingly. "Your friend sounds very strong and the doctors will do everything they can."

"I know," Gi whispered, wiping her eyes. "He's just always been there for me. I really want to do this for him. I really want him to wake up and find things better, you know?"

Linka nodded.

Gi sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. "I think I need to lie down for a while."

"Okay," Linka answered, giving her a gentle hug. "Call if you need anything."

"Yeah, thanks," Gi sighed, stretching out on her bed. It creaked under her weight and she winced.

Linka smiled and closed the door behind her. Wheeler's bedroom was to the right, at the end of the corridor. She could see him stretched out on the bed, his suitcase only half unpacked and his closet door hanging open.

"How have you managed to get the biggest bedroom?" she asked, leaning against the doorjamb and looking in at him.

He lifted his head from the pillow and grinned. "I'm willing to share. You don't look like you take up much room."

"_Bozhe moy_," she muttered, leaving him again.

He chuckled and rolled over, closing his eyes. Unpacking could wait.

xXx

The Planeteers were crowded around the kitchen table. Empty, grease-stained pizza boxes had been shoved aside to make room for sheets of paper and pens, which Linka was hurriedly scribbling on, prompted by comments from the others.

Linka jammed the lid back on her pen. "Right?" she asked, requiring confirmation from the others.

"It seems right to me," Ma-Ti agreed, running his eyes over the notes Linka had scrawled. "Main Dog is the leader of The Wrecking Crew. His younger brother is Ronnie, and he's dating Julie, the younger sister of Clayton, who is the leader of The Evil Educators."

"This sounds like a bad movie plot," Wheeler muttered.

"Well it's not!" Gi snapped. "It's serious!"

He looked up in alarm. "I know, Gi," he said, instantly apologetic.

She rubbed her forehead and rummaged around in her bag. "Brian gave me our schedules," she said. "The principal of the school has sorted us into classes. He and the other teachers know why we're there and they've promised to try and help us out as much as they can, but most of the communication will be done through Brian. If we're caught talking to the teachers too often, it'll look suspicious."

She handed the timetables around.

"Aw, man," Wheeler groaned. "I'm gonna have to start waking up early again."

Linka shot him a look and he fell silent.

"Thanks for doing this," Gi said quietly, looking down at her hands. "I know it's going to be hard."

"We are happy to help, Gi," Kwame said gently. "We will do all we can to make things better here."

Gi nodded and Linka squeezed her hand under the table.

"We should get some sleep," Ma-Ti said. "I think we are all feeling a little drained, and tomorrow is going to be a big day."

The others agreed, and Linka gathered the notes up, intending on storing them safely upstairs.

Gi was sitting in the middle of her bed when Linka arrived.

"Are you all right?" Linka asked sympathetically. "Do not mind Wheeler. He speaks without thinking."

Gi smiled. "I'm used to it."

Linka smiled back and closed the door. "Is the bed comfortable?" she asked, tucking the notes into the back of a notebook and dropping it into the top drawer of the bedside table that stood between the twin beds.

"Mine looks more comfortable than yours," Gi said guiltily. "Sure you don't want to swap?"

"_Nyet_, I think you are in need of better sleep than I am," Linka teased, stripping her t-shirt over her head. "It is cold in here, though."

"I think there are extra blankets in the hall cupboard," Gi answered distractedly.

Linka pulled her nightgown over her head. "I will be all right once I am under the covers," she said confidently.

Gi nodded and Linka sighed and sat on the edge her bed. "Do you want to talk?" she asked.

"No, I'm okay," Gi said, smiling bravely. "I just feel a bit sick. All this stuff with David, and then, you know..." She shrugged. "I think taking my ring off would make me feel better, but I dare not. Does that seem weird? It just seems like it's leaving me more vulnerable to all the negative feeling around here."

"It feels a little draining," Linka agreed. "But we may need them."

"If they'll even work," Gi said doubtfully. "I don't know how David can stand it in a place like this."

"You said he wanted to make a difference," Linka said softly. "It is good, having people like him around. There will be students he has affected, whether or not they are in the gangs we are here to break up. I am sure he has touched the lives of many young people."

Gi looked a little happier. "You're right," she agreed. "I should think of the positives."

Linka squeezed her friend's hand. "Go to sleep," she ordered with a smile. "Do you need anything?"

"No, I'm okay," Gi answered. "Thanks." She smiled, and Linka squeezed her hand again and crossed to her own bed, slipping beneath the covers. Her bed creaked loudly and she groaned.

"I am going to wake you whenever I roll over," she grumbled.

Gi yawned and smiled, shutting the lamp off. "You're underestimating my ability to sleep," she sighed. "I'm exhausted. Night, Linka."

"Goodnight."

xXx

Linka blinked, waking up to the water-stained ceiling above her. She squinted at the digital clock on the bedside table and barely resisted the urge to groan aloud. She had only been asleep for an hour. Deciding to get herself a glass of water, she eased out of her bed and padded across the bare, dusty floorboards.

She was distracted, however, when she noticed the light coming in from under Wheeler's door. She knocked gently and peered around the corner.

He was sitting up in bed, shuffling a pack of cards.

"Hey," he said. "Want to play strip poker?"

"_Nyet_, I think I will pass," she said, stepping into the room.

"Your loss, babe," he said, raising his eyebrow. "I look pretty good beneath these blankets."

She ignored him. "You should be asleep," she said, chiding him quietly, not wanting to wake the others.

He grinned. "Come here a second."

She hesitated, mainly for show, before sitting on the end of his bed.

"Pick a card," he said, holding the pack out.

She rolled her eyes with a smile and drew a card out of the middle. "You are not tired?"

"Exhausted," he said lightly. "Take a look at your card and put it back."

"You should sleep," she said, glancing at her card and then sliding it back into the middle of the pack. She watched him shuffle them again.

He shrugged. "Got a headache. Been feelin' a bit weird since we arrived."

"_Da_, me too," she agreed. "Ma-Ti said it feels to him as though smog is everywhere."

"Smog?" Wheeler glanced to the window, though it was dark out. Raindrops glittered on the pane.

"Hate and fear and violence," Linka clarified. "This mission could be dangerous."

"I'll protect you," he dismissed.

She sighed. "I should go to bed. I am tired."

"Okay." He handed a card back to her. "Night, babe."

She glanced at the card he'd handed her. "You got it right," she said, smiling at him.

He grinned and stretched out, sinking into the pillow. "Night," he said again. "Queen of Hearts."

xXx


	2. Headaches and Magic

"Looks like you're in all of my classes," Gi said, leaning over Wheeler's shoulder at the breakfast table and gazing down at his timetable.

"Sweet," he said, shovelling another spoonful of cornflakes into his mouth. "Can I copy your homework?"

"No," she shot back immediately.

He shrugged. "Okay, so I just won't do it."

Linka rolled her eyes, stabbing another strawberry from her fruit salad with her fork. "I am actually looking forward to it a little," she said. "I enjoyed school."

"Nerd," Wheeler muttered.

"The next time you are in a tight spot, do not ask _me_ to help you," Linka replied, narrowing her eyes at him slightly. "Use your own brain."

He grinned. "You won't stay mad at me forever."

"We had better go," Ma-Ti sighed. He still looked a little pale.

"It might be a good idea for us to go to the school as two groups, instead of one," Kwame said, speaking up. "Wheeler and Gi, you have classes together, so you go ahead. We will follow and try to catch up with you later."

Wheeler shrugged and grabbed his backpack. "Come on, then," he said, slinging his arm around Gi's shoulders. "See you guys later."

They waved half-heartedly, finishing their breakfast and gathering their own books together.

xXx

Linka stacked her books in her locker, feeling nervous and self-conscious as students swarmed around her. A few of them sent curious glances towards her, but she was largely ignored.

She caught sight of Gi and Wheeler further down the corridor, chatting together outside of their homeroom class.

"Hey."

She jumped, and turned. "Hello."

The girl stowing books in the locker beside her smiled. "You're new, right?"

"_Da_, I – I mean, yes. I am." Linka blushed.

"Where you from?"

"Russia."

"Cool." The girl snapped her bubblegum and sucked it back into her mouth. "I'm Jacinta."

"Linka."

"You need someone to show you where to go?"

Linka smiled and handed her timetable over. "That would be nice."

"You're on the same schedule as me," Jacinta said. "Grab your math book."

She led the way up the corridor as the swarm of students began to thin out. Ma-Ti smiled at Linka as she passed him, and she felt a small surge of courage.

Jacinta showed her into a desk just behind Kwame.

"You're new too," she said, looking at Kwame in surprise. "What's with all these kids showing up, like, in the middle of the semester?"

"This is Kwame," Linka said, introducing them. "Kwame, this is Jacinta."

Jacinta seemed to melt a little as Kwame smiled at her. "Hi."

"Hello," he answered.

"Are you in all of my classes as well?" she asked, reaching for his timetable. She gave him another wide smile and scanned his schedule as the rest of the class filtered in.

"Sup, baby?"

Linka flinched back as one of the boys tried to tickle her under the chin. He laughed, and was quickly echoed by two or three of his friends.

"Beat it, Dog," Jacinta snapped. "Keep your hands to yourself."

"Jealous?" he smirked. "Shut your mouth, Jacinta."

She glared at him and he wandered to the back of the class, throwing himself into a desk and dropping his books heavily.

"Don't mind him," Jacinta muttered. "He thinks he's better than he actually is."

"Who is it?" Linka whispered back, remembering the name _Dog_.

"His name is Raymond, but he likes to call himself Main Dog. Don't pay any attention to him." She sent another glare back to Main Dog, and he grinned at her.

Linka bit her lip and resisted the urge to turn around and get a good look at Main Dog. Thinking quickly, she realised her best bet on gaining information rested with Jacinta. She smiled at the girl next to her.

"It sounds like you have a history," she said.

Jacinta rolled her eyes. "Worst mistake I ever made."

Linka shrugged, and turned to the front of the class. "We all have those."

xXx

"Don't try and rush things," Wheeler warned Gi. "It might take a few days for us to gain any progress at all."

"I know," Gi whispered. She glanced towards the framed picture again. It had been set up outside of David's homeroom – a framed picture of him, with two candles and a vase of flowers that looked like they needed changing.

"No change this morning?" Wheeler asked in a low voice, stuffing his history book into his backpack with little regard for its welfare. Gi heard the crumpling of pages and sighed.

"No. Brian said he's still the same."

"He'll pull through," Wheeler said, hoping he sounded comforting. "Come on. We gotta go."

She followed him into the classroom, glancing around at the other students nervously. Her eyes landed on a group of boys at the back – slung in their seats lazily, chatting and laughing amongst themselves. They looked bored and confident, and in charge. Even the teacher seemed nervous of them.

Gi knew Clayton the moment she spotted him. The others treated him with a silent sort of reverence, and he looked around the classroom with eyes that appeared half-closed. Though she had no proof, and though there had been many gang members with guns that night, she instantly began to think that Clayton had been the one to shoot a bullet into David's chest.

She forced herself to concentrate on her history text book, but it wasn't easy. She kept thinking, bitterly, that David should be the one teaching the class. She kept thinking that she should have visited him, or made more of an effort to recognise his struggle against the violence there, and come to help him earlier.

"Next page, toots," Wheeler whispered.

She flicked the page and forced her eyes on the text again, deciding that class was a waste of time. All she really needed was a chance to talk to the other students.

xXx

Ma-Ti was in class without any other Planeteer with him – but he was also the least nervous. He did, however, seem to be suffering from the same headache that had plagued him the day before.

"Are you okay?"

He looked up at the boy looking down at him in concern.

"Just a headache," Ma-Ti assured him. "Stress, I suppose."

"You're new here, right? I'm Ronnie."

"Ma-Ti."

"Hey." Ronnie smiled. "Sure you're in the right class?"

Ma-Ti smiled back. "Afraid so."

Ronnie laughed. "Come on then. It's always good to have someone new around. I'll introduce you."

"Thanks," Ma-Ti sighed. Ronnie's friendly presence seemed to be easing his headache a little.

"So where are you from?" Ronnie asked. "You transfer here?"

"Yes," Ma-Ti said, going with what seemed to be the easiest explanation.

"Why would you come here?" Ronnie asked. He laughed, and apparently didn't require an answer as he pushed the door to the classroom open and led Ma-Ti inside.

"This is Ma-Ti," he announced to the room at large.

Ma-Ti gave a slightly embarrassed wave, but everyone appeared welcoming. He relaxed slightly.

"So has anyone shown you around?" Ronnie asked.

"Not really," Ma-Ti admitted.

"Well, it's pretty easy anyhow," Ronnie said. "This is the only classroom you need to worry about."

"What about the other students?" Ma-Ti asked with a smile. "Do I need to worry about any of them?"

Ronnie's smile faltered a little. "What do you mean?"

"Well, nothing, really," Ma-Ti said. "It's just that... I heard about that teacher. Mr. King."

Ronnie paled, and nodded. "Yeah. He's in hospital, I think."

"What happened?" Ma-Ti asked.

Ronnie shrugged. "No idea," he said. "We'd better get ready for class." He sat at his desk and took his books out, his mouth pressed into a thin line.

Ma-Ti dropped the subject, but something told him Ronnie knew more than he was letting on.

xXx

Kwame rested his head in his hands, his elbows on the kitchen table. "I have a headache," he complained.

"Is it the homework or something else?" Linka asked sympathetically.

"All of this," he said, gesturing about him. "I can feel hatred and prejudice in the air. I cannot imagine how Ma-Ti must be feeling."

Linka nodded wearily. It was exhausting her, too. It felt as though a heavy weight had settled across her shoulders and around her heart. She had looked at her ring several times, wondering if it was worth taking it off. All she could use it for was lifting scraps of paper or bowling leaves along the pavement. Silly, useless little games. She wondered what would happen if they tried to summon Captain Planet. She doubted it would even work – and if it did, he'd feel the same dread and exhaustion the rest of them were suffering.

"I am not sure what we should be doing," Kwame continued slowly. "Nobody seems to want to talk about the shooting. I do not want to question people too hard in case it arouses suspicion."

"_Da_, I know," Linka agreed. "I am hoping that Jacinta will open up a little and talk about Main Dog. Learning more about him and what he thinks of Mr. King could be a help to us."

Kwame nodded in agreement. "Perhaps Wheeler and Gi have learned something. Though, from what I saw of Clayton today, he seems less approachable than Main Dog. Everyone seems very afraid of him."

"I did not see him," Linka said, sitting opposite Kwame with a cup of tea. "Do you think Wheeler or Gi will be in danger?"

"No more than the rest of us." Kwame rested his head down on his arms, pillowed by a science book.

xXx

It was dark, and rain was pattering against the windows. In the living room, the Planeteers were gathered on sofas and armchairs, watching the television or reading, feeling quiet and weary.

Ma-Ti stretched out on the couch with a sigh. "If one more person calls me Marty, I will throw a textbook at them," he said, slinging his arm across his eyes.

Wheeler snorted. "I'd like to see that."

"_You _call him Marty, then," Linka said sweetly.

Gi stretched, her eyes fixed on the television, but unfocused. "So did anyone learn anything today?" she asked tiredly.

"That algebra is just as stupid now as it was when I was in high school," Wheeler muttered.

Gi punched his arm lightly. "You know what I mean."

"Main Dog is in our class," Linka said. "I am making friends with a girl named Jacinta, and I think she knows know him quite well. I am hoping to learn more about him."

Wheeler bit his tongue, fighting the urge to make a remark that would probably earn him a much harder punch.

"Well, Clayton is about is approachable as a cockroach," Gi said miserably.

"We cannot expect to make much progress on the first day," Kwame said gently. "It will take a while."

"I think Ronnie knows something," Ma-Ti said slowly. "He did not seem willing to talk about it, though. I will have to be careful when I ask him my next questions."

"Keep trying, Ma-Ti," Gi pleaded. "Anything we can learn about what happened to David will help us sort these gangs out."

"I will do my best, Gi," Ma-Ti promised.

She nodded, looking exhausted.

"Did you see David again today?" Kwame asked.

"Yeah," Gi whispered. "I sat with him for ages, hoping he'd wake up. The doctors said there hasn't been any change."

"We'll get there," Wheeler promised her confidently. "And he'll be okay."

"I hope so." She looked down at her hands. "I'm sorry for dragging you guys into this. I just feel like I owe him something for being such a friend to me for so long..."

"Friendship does not incur any debt, Gi," Ma-Ti answered gently. "We are doing this because we want to, not because we have to."

She smiled at him.

"I had not prepared myself for such a feeling of fear and suspicion," Kwame said, leaning his head back against the armchair he was sitting in. "I can feel it all around."

"You have to focus on the little things you see," Ma-Ti told him. "When people smile at you or try to help you. It is still there – it is just forced under the cloud of everything else."

"You still look pale," Gi said to him in concern. "Are you sure you're okay? We can all feel it but –"

"I'll be okay," Ma-Ti promised.

She nodded again and flipped her English book open. "Shakespeare," she sighed.

"Again," Wheeler grumbled. "Seriously, if the teachers know we're not really students, do we have to do our homework?"

"Enough to fool the other students," Gi answered. "You can't hand in blank pages."

"I'll just take the fail," he moaned.

"You are studying _Macbeth_, Yankee," Linka said, sounding a little jealous. "It is a wonderful play."

"You read it then," he said with a grin. "Tell me what happens."

She rolled her eyes. "I have my own homework, thank you."

"Have you heard from Brian, Gi?" Kwame asked. "Are there any concerns coming across from the teachers at the school?"

"Nothing we haven't already figured out ourselves," Gi said. "They've all warned us not to underestimate Clayton. I haven't heard much about Main Dog, but if he was there the night of the shooting, he's likely to be just as bad."

"It definitely feels like Clayton is the one that has to crumble if we want to bring it all down," Wheeler agreed. "He's got three or four friends with him all the time – members of his gang, I guess."

"How big _is_ his gang, Gi?" Kwame asked.

She bit her lip. "Three or four members, I think? From what the teachers have told Brian, anyway. I guess they know just as well as anyone, unless he has friends who no longer attend the school."

"And another three or four on Main Dog's side?" Kwame asked.

Gi nodded. "We're outnumbered, I guess," she said softly.

Wheeler reached across and squeezed her hand gently and she sighed and shifted her attention back to her textbook, trying to distract herself with something a little more pleasant.

xXx

"I am tired," Linka sighed, closing her book. "I think I will have an early night. See you all tomorrow."

"Night, Linka," they all echoed. They felt like zombies – their eyes seemed glazed and unfocused.

She waved over her shoulder and headed for the stairs.

Wheeler waited a full three seconds before he followed her quickly.

"You okay?" he asked, bumping Linka's shoulder gently on their way upstairs.

"Of course," she said in surprise. "Why?"

"You're quiet," he reasoned. "Didn't wear your brain out today, did you?"

She laughed softly. "_Nyet_. It is just so overwhelming. I cannot help but think we will be here for a long time, yet."

"Yeah, it seems like it," Wheeler agreed. "Don't let it get you too down. You're the one who likes school, after all."

Linka stopped outside her bedroom door. "My high school was a little different to this one." She gave him a small smile. "Goodnight."

"You're going to sleep already?" Wheeler asked.

"I am tired."

"Nah, come on. You go to bed now and you'll be awake at 4am."

"Well what do you suggest?" she asked, preparing herself for a lewd answer.

"Strip poker?" he asked with a grin.

"Right on cue, Yankee," she sighed. She pushed him away lightly. "_Goodnight._"

He shrugged and shook his head with a smile. "Okay, no strip poker. How about we study for a while?" He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Romance 101?"

"_Bozhe moy_," she groaned.

"Come on, don't go to sleep yet," he said, taking her hand and leading her to his room. "Today sucked and I need a bit of distraction from it."

"It was not a good day?" Linka asked.

"Course not," he muttered. "I was at school."

She laughed and sat on the end of his bed. He sat against the headboard, propping pillows up behind his back. The bed creaked and groaned as they shifted.

"So you think you can figure all this out?" Wheeler asked, watching her.

She shrugged. "I am not sure what good any of us can do." She looked down at her hands. "I feel a little intimidated."

"You, intimidated?" he asked. "No way."

She smiled at him. "It happens. And these boys have done terrible things. It is frightening. I feel out of my depth."

"You'll be okay," he said comfortingly. "Anyway, you made a friend today, right?"

"_Da_, Jacinta. She seems nice."

"Well there you go. Remember Ma-Ti said to focus on the positives."

She smiled. "I know."

He stretched. "I know what you mean, though," he said. "I feel pretty on edge around here."

"Nervous?" she asked, needing clarification.

"Yeah."

They sat there in companionable silence for a while, listening to the rain hit the windows.

"How did you know which card I had picked?" Linka asked curiously, noticing the pack of cards on his bedside table.

"Oh, I knew," he sighed. He gave her a smug look. "Course it was going to be Queen of Hearts."

She rolled her eyes, but couldn't help a smile. "Tell me – please?"

"Where's the fun in that?" he asked with a grin.

She sighed, and thought for a moment. "Will you show me if I teach you a trick of my own?"

"No promises," he said.

"Do you have a nickel?" She held out her palm.

"What, I have to pay to see this trick?" he asked, digging around in his pocket.

"You will need to give me a matchstick, too, if you have any in your pocket."

"Jeez, rob me blind why don't you," he muttered, tossing a packet of matches and a nickel onto the mattress.

She smiled and balanced the nickel on its edge on his bedside table. "Be still," she warned him.

He watched silently as she balanced the matchstick horizontally along the coin, before tipping his empty water glass over the top, trapping the objects underneath.

"Now, without touching the glass, make the match fall off," she said. "But do not knock the nickel over."

"That's impossible!" he exclaimed. He blew towards the matchstick, but the glass sheltered it from harm. Linka laughed, and he grinned at her.

"I can't knock it off by ramming the table?" he asked.

"You can try, if you think you can do it without knocking the nickel over."

"And if I can't do it, I have to show you my trick?"

She nodded.

"What happens if I _can_ do it?"

She smiled, fully confident. "You will not."

"A kiss," he demanded.

She flushed. "Wheeler!"

He laughed. "Still confident?"

She thought for a moment. "_Da_, I am still confident," she said. "If you can knock the match over and keep the nickel standing, I will kiss you. On the cheek."

He laughed. "A nickel for a kiss is a fair price, I think." He squinted at it through the glass. "Do I have to get something in under the glass to knock the match off?"

"Maybe you should listen when you are at school," Linka said impatiently. "Your problem-solving skills are nothing to brag about."

"Hey, this is hard!" Wheeler said, shuffling down and looking at the glass closely. He blew again, but nothing happened except a giggle from Linka.

He examined the glass closely. He tapped the table gently, but figured anything too hard would knock the nickel over as well. He tried to imagine sliding something underneath, but that didn't help either.

Finally, he sank back against his pillows. "I can't do it," he complained. "Which kills me, because I was really looking forward to that kiss."

Linka smiled. "You give up?"

"Yeah," he sighed. "Show me how it's done, genius."

She took his comb from his bedside table and ran it quickly through her hair before holding it against the side of the glass. The match quivered and followed the plastic comb as she waved it back and forth. The match fell beside the upstanding nickel.

"Magic," she whispered, giving him a smug smile. "Goodnight, Yankee."

"How did you do that?" he asked in amazement.

"I told you," she said, handing him his comb. "Magic."

"Wait," he said, sitting up as she stood. "Don't you want to learn the Queen of Hearts trick?"

She shook her head with a smile. "Some secrets are worth keeping. I like that one."

He smiled back. "Night then, babe."

She nodded and closed his door gently behind him. She stood still for a moment, trying to sort her feelings.

Somehow, she was a little disappointed that he hadn't won her kiss.

**xXx**


	3. Scattered

Wheeler poked Gi gently in the ribs. "Any luck?"

"No," she said miserably. "No one will even talk about it. I don't think any of them care."

"Sure they do," Wheeler soothed. "They're just scared. He was shot, Gi. They don't want to tempt fate, I guess. Lots of these kids seem to be hiding guns."

"They are?" Gi asked in alarm. "But there are metal detectors everywhere."

"They're faulty, then," he said softly. "Or the kids have worked out how to get around them. Look around – look closely."

She shuddered. "I don't think I want to."

"Yeah, we're one argument away from a classroom shootout," Wheeler muttered.

"Maybe this is too dangerous," Gi whispered. "Maybe I shouldn't have agreed to this."

"We leave without trying to help and someone else will get shot," Wheeler said. "We've just got to find the first chink in the armour and we'll get our way in. It'll be easier to calm these kids down once we really know what we're dealing with."

Gi nodded. "I went and saw David again this morning," she said weakly. "With Brian."

"How's he doing?" Wheeler asked in concern.

"No change." She swallowed. "He should be showing signs of improvement by now." She was starting to sound tearful, and Wheeler wrapped his arm around her and turned her, sheltering her from the stream of students rushing up and down the corridor.

"Don't cry," he whispered. "I'm sure he'll pull through. Think positive."

She nodded, and fought her tears back. "I feel so sick."

"Me too," he admitted. "One more reason we have to fix all this. All this stuff in the air – no one can see it, but it's still there, right?"

She nodded and took a moment to bury her face against his shoulder, trying to compose herself.

He kissed the top of her head. "Come on, Little Mermaid," he sighed. "I've gotta copy your notes in English, so we'd better get going."

She laughed and wiped her eyes, following him up the corridor.

xXx

Kwame took Linka's elbow. "There is a note from Gi in my locker," he whispered. "Meeting at lunch."

"Why?" Linka asked.

He shrugged and shook his head. "Something must have happened. Around the back of the chemistry lab, okay?"

She nodded and gave him a small wave as he walked away again. He smiled at Jacinta and she waved and smiled back at him.

"Hey," Jacinta said, bouncing over to her locker and greeting Linka.

Linka smiled. "Hi."

"Finish your homework?"

"_Da_, I think so. And you?"

Jacinta wrinkled her nose. "Think so. I have to take extra classes after school or during lunch sometimes to catch up, but I'm on top of things right now."

Linka nodded and closed her locker. "History next, _da_?"

"Yeah. With Mr. White." She wrinkled her nose.

Linka saw a chance. "I heard about what happened to the other teacher," she said. "Mr. King?"

Jacinta nodded. "Yeah. He was a great guy. He didn't deserve that."

"What happened?" Linka asked curiously, hugging her books to her chest and waiting for Jacinta to sort her own books.

Jacinta shrugged. "Gang shootout. It happens often enough around here. He went in to try and stop it or something, I guess. He got hit, but no one has come forward. Everyone is blaming each other. Come on, we'll be late."

Linka bit her tongue in frustration. Progress was not forthcoming at all.

xXx

"Has something happened?" Kwame asked in a soft voice. He, Linka, Wheeler and Gi were huddled behind the chemistry lab amongst thick shrubbery, waiting for Ma-Ti to arrive.

"No idea," Gi whispered. "Ma-Ti wanted me to get the message to you guys. He must have something."

Snapping twigs behind them made them all whirl around – but it was only Ma-Ti.

"I do not have much time," he gasped, obviously out of breath. "But Ronnie was there, Gi. At the shooting."

"He was?" Wheeler asked in disbelief. "He's so young!"

"He wasn't involved in the shooting," Ma-Ti said, shaking his head. "He was the student Mr. King was trying to save. Ronnie went after Main Dog to try and talk him out of it and he got caught up in the middle of things."

"How do you know all of this?" Gi asked.

Ma-Ti glanced around nervously. "Julie told me."

"Julie?"

"Ronnie's girlfriend. She thinks he saw who shot Mr. King. She wants him to come forward."

"Maybe if you _and_ Julie ask him..." Gi said hopefully.

Ma-Ti nodded and smiled. "So," he whispered, "We can all cheer up a little now, yes?"

They all looked guilty and he winced.

"Sorry, Ma-Ti," Linka blurted, knowing that he was obviously ill-affected by the atmosphere around him. "We have very good reason to feel hopeful now." She smiled at him and he smiled back.

Gi sighed. She felt as though a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. To her, the end of things seemed tangible now.

"We get one gang down and we can fracture the other one," she said confidently. "The problem we have at the moment is no one wants to back down. But if one falls, maybe the other will step back."

"We can hope," Wheeler said. He felt a little more reluctant to celebrate.

"I have to go," Ma-Ti said. He squeezed Gi's hand. "I will see all of you later."

They waved and he disappeared again, running off the find Ronnie and Julie.

"Anything new from you guys?" Gi asked, turning back to Kwame and Linka.

Linka shook her head. "I asked Jacinta about the shooting this morning, but she does not know much."

"She may just be reluctant to share information," Kwame suggested.

"Maybe you should try to ask her," Linka said. "She might tell you something."

"Me?" Kwame looked at her blankly. "Why?"

Linka rolled her eyes. "It is obvious she likes you, Kwame."

"She does?" he asked incredulously.

"_Bozhe moy_," Linka sighed.

"Hey!" Wheeler said. "It's weird hearing that directed at someone else." He grinned at Kwame. "Go on and charm Jacinta, then."

Kwame looked embarrassed. "I do not think..." he mumbled.

Gi grinned. "Okay, well there's nothing from us, either. Only that Clayton is possibly the most intimidating person I've ever laid eyes on."

"Well, Ma-Ti has made an important step," Wheeler said. "Things might start falling into place now."

Gi nodded. "We'd better split up again," she said. "We'll see you guys later."

Wheeler draped his arm around Linka's shoulders. "Unless you want to hang out here a bit longer, babe? Practice a little chemistry?"

"_Bozhe moy_, Wheeler!" she exclaimed. She pushed him away, fighting a smile. "Grow up."

He grinned. "It was worth a try."

xXx

Linka grabbed Kwame's arm. "Kwame!" she gasped.

"What?" he turned around in alarm.

"Quick – hurry. There are students going towards the running track with guns."

"Are you sure?" he asked, sounding as panicked as Linka felt. "Find someone. A teacher – anyone who can help us stop things if they get out of control..."

He sprinted towards the track, and Linka looked around desperately. She felt Ma-Ti, like a whisper in the back of her mind, though she was certain he was pushing all of his power towards the other Planeteers.

_Help – athletic field. Guns._

She ran. There were no teachers in sight, and the majority of students were around the other side of the school, gathered at the basketball courts or around the lunch yard by the cafeteria. She skidded through the gate and ran along the wall that led to the bleachers. She saw the trouble.

Ronnie and Julie were cornered by Clayton, who was gesturing angrily and trying to pull Julie away.

Julie tugged out of his grasp. "Just leave it, Clayton!" she cried angrily. "I love him! It's got nothing to do with you _or_ Main Dog!"

Clayton drew his gun out of the waistband of his jeans. "Step away now, Julie," he ordered. "I've warned you time and time again."

"Don't!" she begged. She stood in front of Ronnie. Ma-Ti stood nearby, looking pale and like he could faint at any moment.

Wheeler and Gi were approaching from the other direction.

Clayton shoved Julie aside and pointed his gun into Ronnie's face. Ronnie looked terrified.

"Stop!" Kwame cried, pushing his way past two of Clayton's friends.

Clayton spun around and Linka bit back a cry of terror as the gun suddenly became pointed at Kwame's chest.

He froze, his heart pounding. He hadn't hesitated to draw attention away from Ronnie, but now that Clayton's attention was focused on _him_, he regretted his haste a little. The field was sheltered from the school and there was no one else there to help.

Until Wheeler spear-tackled him into the dirt, wrestling him furiously and spitting insults at him.

"Sorry man," he whispered as he got up. "Sorry."

Kwame groaned, winded, wondering what the hell Wheeler was talking about and why _he_ had been the one to cop the brunt of Wheeler's fists when it was _Clayton_ with the gun.

Julie shoved Ronnie. "Go!" she whispered. "Go, hurry!"

Ronnie sprinted for the gate, glancing back over his shoulder in terror.

"Shit," Clayton cursed, spitting into the dirt as he realised Ronnie had run off. He tucked his gun back into his trousers and the Planeteers breathed a silent sigh of relief.

Clayton glared at Kwame, still sprawled in the dirt. "Better watch your back, man," he said. "Messing in affairs that don't concern you gets you into trouble."

Kwame found the courage to glare back at him, and Linka helped him up.

Clayton turned to Wheeler. "Nice work," he said.

Wheeler's heart was pounding and he felt anxious and sick. "Thanks," he said. His mouth was dry. "Saw him trying to act like a hero and mess with someone else's personal business." He shrugged. "Thought I'd help you out."

Clayton laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. "You're in my classes, yeah?" He caught sight of Gi, standing nearby. "You too."

They both nodded, feeling a little nervous.

Clayton glanced scornfully towards Linka and Kwame. "Beat it!" he snapped. "Don't let me catch you near me or my business again, pal."

Linka tugged on Kwame's shirt and they backed away nervously.

Clayton grabbed Julie's arm again. "We'll finish our discussion later," he snarled. "It ain't over, Julie."

"Yes it is," she snapped, tugging herself free again. "I don't care what _you_ think. You're not in charge of me."

Clayton shoved her. "Get lost, little sis. I got business to take care of."

Julie glared at him and backed off. Ma-Ti followed her.

Clayton turned back to Wheeler and Gi, who were both looking nervous as Clayton's friends stepped closer to them.

"Back off," Clayton ordered. "This guy's all right."

Wheeler tried to stay calm. He felt a little sick, being in Clayton's good books.

"Hey baby," Clayton said, smirking at Gi.

"Hands off," Wheeler snapped immediately, sheltering Gi behind him.

Clayton laughed and held his hands up in mock defeat. "Okay, okay," he said. "I won't touch your girl, it's cool. Just testin' the boundaries, man." He grinned slowly. "That was a nice tackle."

Gi breathed a sigh of relief and pressed her forehead against Wheeler's back for a moment in a silent move of thanks. She peered around him at Clayton.

"Yeah, well, sorry for butting in," Wheeler muttered. "Guess I'm just as bad as he is when it comes to minding my own business."

"Nah man, not when you're on my side." Clayton pointed to his friends. "Theo, Diesel and Zap," Clayton said, introducing them.

"Wheeler. And this is Gi."

"Hey," Gi said shakily.

Clayton nodded. "So the two of you are new, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, stick with us, man. We'll steer you right." Clayton gave another slow, lazy grin.

Wheeler felt his skin crawling. "Thanks," he said. "We appreciate it."

Clayton offered his fist and Wheeler bumped it with his own.

"Come on then," Clayton said, leading them away. He smirked at Gi. "First girl on the team, baby," he said. "Feel special."

Gi resisted the urge to glare at him. She gave him a smile instead. "Thanks. From what I hear of you, I guess I should be honoured."

Clayton guffawed. "You'll fit right in with that charm, sweetheart."

Wheeler took Gi's hand and squeezed it, and she didn't let go of him until they reached the safety of the classroom half an hour later.

xXx

"We have a problem," Wheeler whispered to Gi as they gathered their books at the end of the day.

"Tell me about it," she answered worriedly. "Though I guess it's safer to be with him than against him, right?"

"It's safer to be kept out of it altogether," Wheeler answered. "But Clayton wants to come around to the house later. We need to get the others out of there."

Gi's face fell. "You're right. Quick, we'd better hurry."

He nodded in agreement. "Guess I really complicated things, huh?"

"At least Kwame didn't get a bullet to the chest," Gi answered softly.

Wheeler put his arm around her. "Hey, King will be okay," he promised. "He'll wake up."

Gi nodded. "Yeah." She wiped her eyes hurriedly. "I hope so."

xXx

"It's the best way," Wheeler said, tossing more of Kwame's sweatshirts at him as the Earth Planeteer hurried to pack. "Gi and I are in the good books with Clayton's gang already. If you guys can get closer to his rivals, we can figure out what's going on in both camps and work it out between us."

"But we will be separated," Linka said in a small voice. She looked pale and Wheeler looked at her in surprise.

"You okay, babe?"

She glanced to Kwame, but he was busy stuffing clothes into his bag.

"Fine," she said.

Wheeler glanced to Kwame as well, and tugged Linka out onto the landing. "Don't believe you," he whispered, smiling at her gently. "What's up?"

She shrugged, embarrassed now. "I suppose I am frightened," she said, and she lifted her chin defiantly, as though she expected scorn from him.

"Yeah, me too," he admitted. "Guns are scary, and these kids like using them way too much."

"So why are we splitting up?" Linka asked desperately. "We should be sticking together."

"We'll be okay," he said. "Brian's organising somewhere for you to stay. You all packed?"

Her heart sank. "_Da_, I am all packed."

"Okay." He took her hand and looked at her seriously for a moment. "Honestly babe, don't worry so much."

"Kwame had a gun pointed at him today," she said quietly, looking down at their hands entwined. "One of you could have been shot."

"Tell you what," he said, steering her around so she faced him properly. He didn't let go of her hand, and she didn't ask him to. "I'll make a deal with you, okay?"

"Okay." She wiped her eyes hurriedly, embarrassed that she was suddenly tearful.

"I _promise_ not to get shot," he said, giving her a cheeky grin. "And in return, you give me a kiss when we get home, okay?"

"_Bozhe moy_," she muttered, and she laughed and buried her face in his shirt. "Idiot."

He laughed and hugged her tightly. "I know it's not an ideal situation," he sighed. "But if we want to find out who shot Gi's friend, and help to break these gangs up, we need to get inside them."

"I do not think I am gang material," she mumbled. She could hear Kwame slamming drawers as he continued to pack his things.

Wheeler hesitated a moment and lifted his free hand to stroke her hair. "You'll be okay," he promised.

xXx

"You in separate bedrooms?" Clayton asked in disbelief, looking into Gi's room.

"Not really," she answered, pulling a lie from nowhere. "So long as the landlord thinks we are, we can stay here."

"Sweet," Clayton replied, wandering through to Wheeler's room. "Big place. No parents. You two got it made."

Gi nodded silently.

"So what did you want to talk about?" Wheeler asked, slinging himself onto his bed.

"Well, what you did today impressed me, man," Clayton drawled, running his hand along the window sill and looking down into the street. "Shit, you could almost see my place from here."

"Really?" Wheeler asked. "Where are you?"

"See that old factory down the street here? All busted windows and shit? My estate's on the other side of that."

"Nice view," Gi said dryly.

Clayton snorted. "Yeah." He flicked his eyes over her and grinned slowly. "Damn, Wheeler," he said. "You're pulling above your weight."

"Don't have to tell me," Wheeler sighed. He reached for Gi's hand and she took it all-too-happily, sitting on the bed and letting him shelter her a little from Clayton's gaze. If posing as Wheeler's girlfriend protected her at all from Clayton's advances, she was more than willing to play along.

Clayton flicked a small package from his pocket at Gi. "Better take these, girl," he said. "In case he gets ideas." He laughed and Gi tossed the packet of condoms onto the bedside table with a look of embarrassment.

"Man, leave her alone," Wheeler said, frowning at him. "Enough, already."

"I said nothin'!" Clayton protested. "Learn to take a joke." He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. "She'd better beat it anyway, I gotta talk man-to-man. Decided no girls are gonna be in my crew."

Gi opened her mouth to protest immediately, but Wheeler squeezed her hand.

"Go on," he said. "I'll be down in a minute."

Clayton rolled his eyes and Gi left reluctantly.

"So what's up?" Wheeler asked cautiously.

"You want in? With me and my crew?" Clayton asked. It sounded like a rhetorical question.

"Are you offering?" Wheeler asked.

"It's me or Main Dog, man. Which one of us you supporting?"

"You," Wheeler answered.

Clayton smirked. "Oh yeah? Why?" He stared down at Wheeler with heavy-lidded eyes.

Wheeler shrugged. "You seem to have it together. This other guy Main Dog doesn't look like he knows which end of a gun to hold."

Clayton laughed. "Man, he knows," he said. "But that family sure is slow. His little bro is proof enough of that."

Wheeler bit his tongue.

"So listen, you stick with me," Clayton said, and he glared suddenly, drawing himself up and straightening his shoulders. "You jump when I tell you to jump – you got it?"

Wheeler equalled his glare. "Yeah, I got it."

"And what I say to you – no words to your girl, understand? What's said between us stays between us."

Wheeler nodded.

"I mean it."

"I got it!" Wheeler snapped. He felt sick, and on edge. Clayton's presence was enough to give him a headache. He was seriously contemplating tugging his Planeteer ring off his finger and hurling it across the room. It seemed to be acting as a gateway – letting all the hatred and prejudice Clayton stood for flow right into his bloodstream.

"I need you any time, you come runnin'. She's gotta understand. I don't have no girls in my gang. And if she can't be trusted, she's gone, understand?"

Wheeler felt a terrible thrill of ice down his spine. "No one touches her," he snarled. "Anyone lays a finger on her –"

"She keeps her nose out of our business, she got nothing to worry about," Clayton said. "You keep your business with me separate to your business with her. Right?"

Wheeler gave a terse nod, which Clayton seemed to accept.

"Okay, first words of warning, man," Clayton said, lowering his voice. "Keep your head down in school tomorrow."

"Why?" Wheeler asked warily. "What does that mean?"

Clayton just shook his head. "Keep your head down." He headed for the door, but paused and looked back over his shoulder. "You can share that one with your girl," he said. "If you care about her, right? Keep your heads down." He smirked, and closed the door behind him.

Wheeler breathed and put his head in his hands. _This feels like too much._

xXx

"Keep our heads down?" Gi asked, yet again, as they were getting ready for school the following morning. "What the hell does that mean?"

"Beats me," Wheeler muttered. "Don't draw attention to ourselves, I guess."

"Like we did yesterday?" Gi asked.

Wheeler lifted his head. "Maybe that's it," he said slowly. "Maybe there's going to be another confrontation and Clayton wants us to stay out of it."

Gi chewed her lip worriedly. "What are we going to do?" she asked. "Things seem to be getting worse and worse."

"We'll figure it out," Wheeler said, looking back to the toast he was buttering. "I figure Clayton knows about the shooting – maybe in a few days he'll trust me enough to tell me what happened, and we can splinter the gang and destroy it from the inside or something."

"Just don't get hurt," Gi pleaded. "Don't rush in without thinking about something first."

He grinned at her. "Like yesterday, you mean?"

She winced and nodded, and he kissed the top of her head before taking a bite of his toast and disappearing to find his math book.

xXx

Linka was doodling in her notebook as students filtered in to the classroom. Jacinta sank into the desk next to her.

"Hey," she said.

"Hi," Linka replied, smiling. "You look nice."

"Thanks," Jacinta answered, flicking her hair over her shoulder and glancing around. "Is Kwame here today?"

"_Da_, he forgot his text book. He went back to get it." Linka smiled to herself as Jacinta settled herself nervously. When Kwame arrived, Linka shifted her eyes pointedly to the seat to Jacinta's right – and he took the hint. He smiled at her when he sat down, and Jacinta smiled back and leaned across to whisper a greeting to him as the teacher entered.

Linka gazed down at her notes. "_Bozhe moy_!" she whispered. She tore the page out quickly and scrunched it into a ball, destroying the little circles of flames and swirling W's she had decorated the paper with.

She forced her attention to the front of the classroom, following the written notes on the blackboard and writing them down neatly, slamming her mind shut against any other thought. She could feel her cheeks burning and she drew in few silent, deep breaths in order to calm herself down.

_Flames and W's. What am I thinking?_ She bit her lip and watched her pen move across the paper as it copied down math formulas.

Main Dog was sitting two desks back, and she could hear him muttering to one of his friends.

"Yo, Eli," he whispered loudly. "Man, what you doing sitting up there with the squares?"

Linka swept her gaze back to her notes as the boy in front of her turned around and grinned. "Learnin', man. Shut up."

Main Dog snorted and started to laugh, and the teacher cleared his throat, loudly.

"Whatever," Main Dog answered. "Man when you're up there learnin' I'm back here with a nice view of Jacinta's ass."

"Shut up!" Jacinta snapped, whirling around in her chair. "Grow up –"

"Enough, all of you!" the teacher called. "Copy the notes. Raymond, not another word."

Linka shifted her eyes back to Eli once he had turned around again. Maybe The Wrecking Crew weren't so tight-knit, after all.

Her mind began to wander again, and she daydreamed about confronting Eli and having him admit to everything readily – how he'd turn all his friends in and break up the gangs because he wanted to leave the gang culture behind. She mused that perhaps not sitting with Main Dog indicated an enormous change of heart, and that maybe with a few convincing words, everything could be made okay again, and the Planeteers could all go home, leaving a friendlier, happier community behind them.

Just as she was thinking about how proud Wheeler would be of her if she were the one to find the first crack in the gang culture, the classroom door burst open and everyone jumped and looked up in alarm.

Linka didn't know what was happening. One moment she was daydreaming and then someone screamed, and then there was a shot, and it was so, so loud. One loud, powerful gunshot that seemed to her louder than anything she'd heard before, and then everyone was screaming. Everyone, and they were on the floor and scrambling to run, and she didn't know what had happened but Kwame was pulling at her and shouting at her and telling her to hurry, and when she slipped on the floor she realised it was because she'd stepped right into Eli's blood, and he was lying on his back and half of his face seemed to be missing.

_But he was right there in front of me,_ she thought, letting Kwame pull her along. The corridor was a confusing river of panic. Students streamed for the exits, screaming and crying.

When her mind finally started functioning again, she was outside with Kwame, and he was in front of her and looking at her worriedly. His eyes were wide and frightened.

"Are you hurt?" he asked.

She shook her head. She could feel her heart starting to race and her breath starting to speed up and splutter as she realised what had just happened.

"He was right in front of me," she explained tearfully. "He was copying notes..."

Kwame nodded and wrapped his arms around her tightly. She squeezed her eyes closed and sobbed against his chest, clenching his shirt in her fists.

xXx

Wheeler was twirling his pen in his hand and gazing out the window when the gunshot echoed loudly down the corridor.

The students in his class all looked up in alarm, and when the screaming started, three classes down, Mr. White leapt to his feet and ordered everyone to follow emergency procedure. Wheeler wasn't entirely sure what the emergency procedure was, but the other students panicked and immediately ran for the exits, screaming and terrified, leaving books and fluttering papers in their wake.

"Oh my God," Gi sobbed, running alongside him. "Oh my God, it's happened again."

He took her hand and they burst into the yard and wove their way through panicked students and teachers. There was no order or organisation – people were running away down the street, or across the baseball field. Teachers were trying to herd everyone to safety and gather groups together, but the effort was useless.

"We've gotta find the others," Wheeler said. His mouth was dry and there was a loud roaring in his ears. "We've gotta find out what just happened."

Gi wiped her eyes with her free hand, still clinging fiercely to Wheeler with her other. "Should we go back to the house and wait for them? What do we do?" She looked up at him, terrified.

"I dunno," he said. He was anxiously searching the crowd for Linka and Kwame. "Shit, I hope they're okay," he said. Bile rose in his throat as he realised the possibilities of what they were yet to learn. "Oh Christ, if someone's found out who we are..."

Gi staggered and he caught her and held her against him, still running his eyes over the students standing around in confusion.

"You all need to get inside the student hall!" Mr. White was roaring across the crowd. "File in!"

"Should we go in or go back to the house?" Wheeler asked.

"Where's Clayton?" Gi moaned. "I'm sure _he_ knows what's going on."

Wheeler shook his head. "They all scattered," he said breathlessly. "The Wrecking Crew, too. Anyone with a gun is gonna skip out of here before the cops arrive."

"Wheeler, let's get out of here," Gi sobbed. "Please."

He nodded. "Okay." He felt sick. He searched the crowd desperately, still half-carrying Gi as they made their way to the gate. They heard sirens wailing in the distance – far too late to be any use to anyone.

xXx

Gi had locked all the doors and windows tightly, and all the lights were on, chasing away the shadows the cloudy afternoon had sent into the house. Wheeler sighed gratefully as he heard his cell – he'd tried to call Linka, Kwame _and_ Ma-Ti, and none of them had answered him yet.

"Hey," he greeted Kwame softly. "Gi and I are okay."

"The three of us are safe, too," Kwame said. His voice sounded strained and heavy. "Linka and I have had to give police statements. We need to talk – but none of us dare to come near the house."

"Probably a good idea to stay put," Wheeler answered weakly. "Just so long as you're all okay..." He leaned against the wall.

"Frightened," Kwame admitted. "Eli was sitting in front of Linka."

Wheeler slid to the floor. The sweat on his skin was chilling him, suddenly, and he wanted to be sick. "She's okay?" he asked. He didn't recognise the voice that came out of his mouth. It sounded weak and frightened and quivery.

"She is asleep. Ma-Ti made her some tea to help her relax. I think she will be okay."

"This Eli kid..."

"Died instantly. I am not sure what happened. It all happened so fast..."

"Yeah." Wheeler swallowed. "Eli is in Main Dog's gang, yeah?"

"Yes. Was Clayton in class?"

"Uh-huh. But he's got friends in other classes. I'm not sure where they were." Wheeler ran his hand over his face and looked up as Gi arrived, her face still pale and tear-streaked. He held his hand out and she took it and sat next to him, leaning her cheek against his arm.

"There is no school until Monday," Kwame said. "I am not sure what our next move should be. I am reluctant to stay here..."

"Me too," Wheeler admitted. "These kids are callous enough to burst into classrooms and gun one another down..." He swallowed. "I'm scared."

"I know," Kwame whispered. "Me too. How is Gi holding up?"

"The same," Wheeler answered cryptically, his arm moving around Gi's shoulders. "There are security cameras at the school, right?"

"Only at the metal detectors," Kwame said. "If someone knows where they are, I suppose they could avoid them, or hide their face. Whoever it was had a hooded sweatshirt on."

Wheeler winced."Great. So I guess we can't rely on any CCTV footage to help us out with this."

"It was a move from The Evil Educators," Kwame said. "We know that much. If Clayton continues to trust you, we have a better chance of finding out who this was than the police do."

"I guess," Wheeler said.

Kwame sighed. "But, it is still dangerous. What do you think we should do?"

"Maybe we shouldn't decide anything just now," Wheeler answered. "We should sleep on it and see if we can learn more tomorrow."

"Be careful," Kwame said after a moment. "Clayton is showing a lot of interest in you."

"I know. I guess that's our best chance of finding out why Eli died. I'll be careful, I promise." He swallowed. _Can you tell Linka I love her, please?_ "Talk tomorrow," he said.

"Tomorrow," Kwame agreed. "Hug Gi for us."

"I will."

"Tell her to hug you, too."

He laughed, and drew in a shaky breath. "Yeah. Group hug over there too."

"Of course. Be safe."

Wheeler felt less courageous without Kwame's gentle, calming presence.

"Are they okay?" Gi asked worriedly.

"Uh-huh." Wheeler nodded and rested his cheek on the top of her head. "Some kid named Eli has been killed. A member of Main Dog's gang."

Gi started to cry again. "What have I gotten us into?" she wailed.

Wheeler wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly. "We're all here by choice, Gi," he whispered. "Don't be so hard on yourself."

She just shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut. Everything seemed to be falling apart.

xXx

Linka rolled over and looked at the clock again. She sighed when she saw the time. With the school closed until the following week, she realised she had no reason to be up bright and early in the morning, but that was what was keeping her up. Gunshots and blood and screaming.

She tossed and turned, trying to shut her mind against memories and anxiety.

Finally, she threw the covers back and crept across the floor, trying to avoid the creaking floorboards. Kwame's door was closed and his light was off. She could hear him snoring softly when she pressed her ear to the door.

She crept down the hall to Ma-Ti's room. His door was ajar, but she could see him sleeping, a slight frown on his face and his leg outside of the covers.

She chewed her lip for a moment before she decided she didn't want to wake him. She went and sat in the living room instead, hugging a sofa cushion to her chest and listening to the faint sounds of traffic in the night outside.

She felt tearful and afraid, and ridiculous. She wanted to get up and go back to bed and sleep, but her mind simply would not rest. She ran through the afternoon's events again and again, unable to forget how loud the gunshot had been or how dark the blood had looked on the floor of the classroom.

She thought again about waking Ma-Ti, but he had been so exhausted lately she didn't want to disturb the precious sleep he managed to gain.

She rested her head down against the couch cushions, knowing exactly who she'd rather be seeking comfort from. She wouldn't really hesitate with Wheeler – he'd wake up and make some sleepy joke about her wanting to get into bed with him, and she'd whisper some icy comment back to him before clambering into the blankets, seeking the warm and silent comfort he was so good at offering. Despite what she thought of his immaturity, he knew when to speak and when to shut up. She longed for his company now.

She toyed with her cell phone for a moment, tossing up thoughts on whether or not to call him – but it was late, and he was likely to be asleep. Somehow it was different, being separated from him. Waking him with a phone call seemed more unreasonable than waking him with a soft tap on the shoulder.

She turned her thoughts inwards again, deciding to berate herself for a while for thinking about him when things were so serious.

_But it is not romantic feeling_, she thought after a while. _I do not think it is._

She cringed and buried her face in the cushions. She was kidding herself and she knew it. She'd had this debate a thousand times before. A large part of her wanted to give in and just admit it aloud – but that meant exposing herself and risking a lack of control. If anything went wrong between her and Wheeler, she doubted she would be willing to stay within the Planeteers. It would compromise the team, if she gave in.

She wished her mind would be silent. She didn't like feeling vulnerable, and it seemed to her that she had been lost and confused since the mission started.

She wondered if perhaps it had something to do with being separated from Wheeler.

"_Nyet_," she said aloud, her voice muffled against the couch. "Of course not."

xXx

"Snap!"

"Damn it!" Wheeler cursed. He grinned and leaned back against the couch. "Okay, you win."

Gi smiled back. "Small victories might be all I have."

"Nah," Wheeler said, shuffling the cards again. "It'll all be okay."

"Where's all this confidence come from?" she asked, still feeling lingering fear from that afternoon.

He nodded towards the coffee pot. "Caffeine."

"Uh-huh." She watched him deal the cards again.

It was nearing three o'clock in the morning, and two of them had decided to shun sleep, knowing that it wouldn't come easily to them anyway. They sat at the coffee table in the living room in low lamplight, playing simple card games and chatting quietly together.

"Do you think she's okay?" Gi asked after a while. "Linka?"

Wheeler looked up. "She wasn't hurt, was she?"

"No – I mean..." She shrugged. "We're her best friends. Maybe she's having trouble sleeping too... Maybe she just wants someone to talk to."

"She's probably asleep, Gi." Trying not to look or act as worried as he felt, Wheeler tossed another card onto the top of the pile. "She's got Kwame and Ma-Ti."

"Yeah, I know." She couldn't explain her gut feeling any better. All she knew was that _she'd_ like to have Linka there with her.

Wheeler sighed. "I wish she was here."

Gi looked up at him.

"I mean, not that your company isn't great," he added hastily.

She shook her head. "No, I know what you mean. It's hard not having her around."

She frowned down at the pile of cards in the middle of the table. Being separated from Kwame and Ma-Ti – and in particular, her best friend Linka – seemed to add to the cold weight across her shoulders and inside her mind. She felt weighed down and weary, cold and frightened. She wanted Linka to sit beside her with that look of gentle understanding and a comforting arm around her.

"I think I'm gonna go to bed," she said.

Wheeler looked up at her. "Okay," he said. "You all right?"

Gi nodded. "Just starting to feel tired. Might try and get some sleep now."

"Sure. Yell out if you need me."

She nodded held her hand towards him as she got up. When she parted her fingers slid against his, lingering for a moment as though seeking that warm, comforting touch she suddenly craved from someone.

"Night," she said.

"Sweet dreams, Little Mermaid."

When she looked back over her shoulder at him, he was turning a card over and over in his fingers, looking at it thoughtfully.

The Queen of Hearts.

xXx


	4. Isolated

"Brian said the police are still chasing up leads, but none of them seem to be going anywhere. We should meet up with the others today and compare notes," Gi said, slicing an apple at the kitchen counter.

"Definitely," Wheeler agreed. "Where, though?"

She sighed. "Yeah. Somewhere Clayton can't see us."

"Maybe things have calmed down a bit," he said hopefully. "It's been two days and nothing's happened. Even the media have given up. A kid gets gunned down in a classroom but apparently because it happened at this school, it doesn't matter so much." He glared down at his half-empty cup of coffee.

"School goes back on Monday," Gi answered, staring down at her uneaten apple slices. "Things might heat up again once everyone is forced back into classrooms and corridors together."

Wheeler glanced at her. "How much sleep have you been getting?"

"Not much," she admitted.

"You okay?" he asked.

She nodded tiredly. "At the moment. I change my mind every five minutes though, so ask again once I'm done with my apple."

There was a loud knock at the door and they both jumped and looked towards it in alarm.

"Will it be the others?" Gi asked in a whisper.

Wheeler shook his head. "They've all got keys, and they'd come around the back." He got up and peered out the kitchen window before opening the door.

"Hey," Clayton said, strolling in. "Need you to come with me for a bit."

"Why?" Wheeler asked warily.

Clayton gave him a hard stare. "Listen," he said. "I ask you to jump, you jump. Got it?"

"Yeah," Wheeler muttered. _Prick._

"Your girl has to stay here," Clayton said, nodding towards Gi, who was still sitting at the kitchen table. She folded her arms over her chest, nervous all of a sudden about still being in her pyjamas.

"Where are we going?" Wheeler asked, pulling his jacket on.

"See some guys I know. Get you some protection."

"Protection?" Wheeler asked.

Clayton sneered at him. "School's back in two days and Main Dog is gonna be pissed. Need me to spell it out for you?"

"No," Wheeler muttered.

"Yeah well, say goodbye to your girl. We might be a couple of hours and she ain't comin'." He smirked. "Don't hold back on my account."

Wheeler glared at him and turned his back, leaning over to brush his lips softly against Gi's. "Lock everything," he whispered. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

She kissed him gently, and though she didn't voice it, her face told him everything. _Be careful._

xXx

Clayton glanced around. He seemed on edge, which didn't calm Wheeler at all. They were standing out the back of a run-down arcade in an alley that seemed to be home to a skinny dog and several rats. Graffiti littered the brick, and Wheeler thought he could see several chunks that looked to have been bitten out by bullets. He clenched his fists nervously.

"How long you been with China Doll?" Clayton asked, lighting a cigarette.

Wheeler felt repulsed just being in his company. "She's Korean, actually."

"Whatever," Clayton muttered, blowing smoke into the air.

Wheeler jammed his hands in his pockets. "What are we waiting here for?"

"Theo's brother. He hooks me up with stuff now and then."

"Like a gun or two?" Wheeler asked, leaning his back against the wall. He didn't want to be there. He wanted to run back to Hope Island with the others and bury his head under his pillow and forget everything that had happened in the past week.

Clayton sucked on his cigarette. "Yeah, a gun or two." He dug the cigarettes out of his pocket again. "Want one?" he asked, offering the pack to Wheeler.

He shook his head. "Nah. Thanks."

Clayton scoffed. "Well, listen, I'm gonna hook you up with somethin' here. Don't say anythin' to this guy. He's touchy. But I need your ass covered because The Wrecking Crew are gonna want pay back for what happened to Eli."

"Figured you had something to do with that," Wheeler muttered.

"Never said that," Clayton answered breezily. "I don't know nothin'. But Main Dog's sure as hell gonna blame me for it."

"You were in class," Wheeler agreed.

"Damn straight I was." Clayton gave a lazy smile. "I might get bad grades, man, but I ain't so stupid. And anyway – no matter who pulled that trigger, Eli got what he deserved."

"So whoever it was," Wheeler said carefully, "They were aiming at Eli specifically?"

Clayton shrugged and dragged on his cigarette. "They're all the same."

"Ever figured maybe you should just back down?" Wheeler asked. "All this fighting, man. You're all just gonna kill each other."

"Not if I act first," Clayton answered. "Wipe them out and troubles are over."

"There's always going to be someone after revenge," Wheeler said, shaking his head. "What if somethin' happens to Julie?"

"She's safe if she sticks at me," Clayton snapped. "Shut up. Leon's coming."

Wheeler's stomach roiled. Leon glanced him up and down.

"Who's this?" he asked.

Clayton glanced up and down the alley. "It's cool. You got what I want?"

"I asked who he was," Leon answered coldly.

"Wheeler's a new member of ours," Clayton said, stepping closer to Leon. "I said it's cool, okay?"

Leon smirked. "Whatever. Got the money?"

Wheeler looked on as Clayton handed over a wad of notes.

"Here." Leon thrust a gun into Wheeler's hands. "I'm out. Catch you later." He nodded and stalked away, not looking back.

Wheeler looked down at the gun in his hands. It felt cold and heavy.

"I'm going to assume you know how to work it," Clayton said, smirking.

"Yeah, I know," Wheeler muttered. He turned the gun over a couple of times, hefting it. It seemed to weigh him down. "I can't pay you for this," he said. "I'm broke."

"China Doll cleanin' you out?" Clayton asked. He laughed at his own comment. "Man, don't worry. You can pay it back in favours."

Wheeler felt his stomach flip over and he clutched the gun tightly – his palms were sweating. "Sure," he said. He tucked it into the back of his jeans, letting his t-shirt drape down and hide it. "Explain to me how we're supposed to get this past all the increased security at the school, though."

"You'll figure it out," Clayton said. "Let's go. China Doll will be worryin' about you." He gave Wheeler a lewd wink and it took all his strength not to take his gun and crack it down on the back of Clayton's head.

xXx

Gi breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Wheeler walking up the front path again. She frowned when she realised Clayton was still with him, but the anxiety she had been feeling had lessened now that she could see Wheeler was unhurt.

"Hey," she said softly, unable to hide her relief when he came in the front door.

He grinned. "Hey. You okay?"

She nodded, twisting her fingers nervously. "Where'd you go?"

"Classified," Clayton said, slamming the door behind him and smirking at her. "Hey baby."

She wished she had the courage to glare at him, but truth be told, she felt terrified in his company. She lowered her eyes.

"Ain't you gonna say hello?" Clayton asked, reaching out and catching hold of the front of her t-shirt.

Wheeler snapped. He grabbed Clayton by the shoulders and pulled him back, slamming him against the wall so hard the telephone receiver fell out of its cradle. He pinned Clayton there with his arm.

"Don't. Touch. Her." He said, increasing the pressure of his arm against Clayton's throat with each syllable.

Clayton shoved him back, and then laughed. "You've got balls after all," he said. "Good to know. See you 'round."

He smirked again and straightened himself to his full height before sauntering back out the front door into the misty morning.

Wheeler set the phone back in its cradle and turned to Gi. "You okay?"

"You shouldn't make him angry like that," she said tearfully. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and squeezed him tightly. "You'll get hurt."

Wheeler kissed the top of her head. "Don't worry," he soothed. "We'll sort all this out."

"I don't think we can," she mumbled. "We're in over our heads. We still don't know who shot David, and now this Eli kid..."

"Clayton definitely had something to do with it," Wheeler answered. "But it doesn't sound like Eli was a direct target, and I'm not sure who the gunman was. As far as I can figure out, no one from Clayton's gang missed class."

"He's too clever for that," Gi answered. She pressed her cheek against Wheeler's chest and breathed in the warmth that radiated from his body. "Maybe it wasn't even a student."

Wheeler's eyes widened after a moment. "Maybe it was someone from outside the school," he agreed, his mind racing. "Someone with a gang connection, but someone who wouldn't be missed from class. Maybe it was someone like Leon."

xXx

Ma-Ti touched Linka's shoulder gently, and she jumped, her eyes springing open.

"Oh," she said in relief, sitting up. "Hello."

"Good morning," he said gently. He sat on the couch, beside her. "Have you moved out here permanently?"

"_Nyet_," Linka answered tiredly, combing her fingers through her hair. "I could not sleep."

"Again? Why did you not wake me?" Ma-Ti asked, handing her a steaming cup of tea.

She shrugged and smiled at him. "I did not want to disturb you."

"Are you all right?" he asked.

She nodded and sipped her tea. "Is your headache gone?" she asked. She figured it was a useless question, but she wanted to shift the attention away from herself.

"No, not really," he answered. He sighed and leaned back into the sofa cushions. "It does not make sense," he said. "Why shoot Eli? The other day, everything seemed to indicate that Ronnie was the target."

Linka's stomach clenched and she set her tea aside. "It would not make sense either way," she whispered.

"No, of course not," Ma-Ti agreed. "But perhaps Eli did something to upset Clayton's gang? There must be a reason the gunman went into that classroom instead of Ronnie's classroom."

Linka pinched the bridge of her nose. She didn't want to think about it anymore. She wanted the images of the past few days to be wiped away. The entire day seemed to be stored in her memory as still pictures. She shuddered when she remembered what the remains of Eli's face had looked like as she had scrambled her way past him.

Ma-Ti took a deep breath. "I think I will go back to bed," he whispered.

She lifted a hand to his forehead worriedly. "Is there anything I can do?" she asked.

He smiled and shook his head. "I do not think so, Linka." He patted her hand gently and made his way slowly back to bed. She anxiously watched him go.

xXx

"We should go to the others," Gi said, hugging her knees and watching Wheeler pace the room. The gun he'd received the previous day sat on the coffee table between them, and he kept glancing towards it nervously.

"Yeah," he agreed. "Don't think it's safe for them to come here, with Clayton hanging around the way he is."

"I mean, we could just talk to them on the phone if it's too dangerous," she said hesitantly. "But it's been three days since the shooting, and school goes back tomorrow. I feel like I need to see them."

He nodded. "Me too. You wanna call Kwame and tell him we'll be there in an hour?"

"Okay," she agreed. "Make me a coffee?"

He nodded, relieved he suddenly had a menial task to focus his mind on. He felt sick and nervous. He kept running over the scraps of information they'd managed to gather together. The more he thought about it, the more he thought Leon was the gunman. None of Clayton's gang members had been absent from class, but it definitely seemed to have been a move from their side. As Theo's brother and as the supplier of Clayton's weapons, Leon seemed to make sense. He'd know about The Wrecking Crew and he'd be able to identify its members.

Wheeler shuddered and stirred sugar into Gi's coffee. She was waiting for him when he returned.

"I think we should go to the police," he said. "Tell them our thoughts on Leon."

"You're really that sure?" she asked.

He shrugged. "Even a suspicion is enough, right?"

She nodded and took her coffee gratefully. "Kwame said Ma-Ti has been in bed all day. His headaches aren't improving."

Wheeler winced and sat next to her. "Yeah, I feel pretty out of it myself," he said, rubbing his fingers through his hair. "I've got a headache and I feel sort of – heavy."

Gi nodded in agreement. "Me too. I can't imagine how hard it is for poor Ma-Ti."

He sighed and closed his eyes. "I'm tired."

"Me too. You've got a little while before we have to leave. Cat nap?"

He chuckled and eased down along the couch, resting his head on her lap. "Sounds good."

xXx

Linka felt the atmosphere change once Gi and Wheeler arrived. They all seemed to breathe a collective sigh of relief, and the tension in their muscles and the throbbing anxiety they had all been feeling seemed to ease.

"Hey babe," Wheeler whispered, brushing his hand against hers as he stepped through the front door. "You okay?"

She nodded, and Gi wrapped her arms around her, instantly tearful.

"I'm so sorry," Gi sniffed. "About dragging you into this and being apart from you..."

Wheeler left them to it and headed deeper into the house. Kwame was in the kitchen, looking exhausted.

"Hey," Wheeler greeted him. "You okay?"

Kwame nodded. "You?"

Wheeler shrugged. "Yeah. Wish we were making more progress."

"Me too," Kwame sighed.

Ma-Ti emerged, looking sleepy and pale. "Hello," he said, smiling weakly at Wheeler. "I thought I heard you here."

Wheeler draped his arm around Ma-Ti's shoulders. "You okay, little buddy?"

"Just a headache," Ma-Ti said, nodding bravely.

Gi and Linka arrived, their faces tear-streaked.

"Any extra progress?" Kwame asked, motioning them all through into the tiny living room.

"Gi and I have a theory," Wheeler said. "But it's just a theory."

"What is it?" Ma-Ti asked curiously.

Wheeler explained to them what had happened the previous day, drawing the gun out and laying it gently on the coffee table. They all looked at it with trepidation.

"You think Leon was the one who shot Eli?" Ma-Ti asked.

"It could have been anyone," Wheeler admitted. "But Clayton made sure all his gang members were in class and accounted for. Leon is Theo's brother, so maybe his feelings towards Main Dog and The Wrecking Crew aren't so different. And he'd probably know what those kids look like. He could pick them out of a crowd and hurt them, if he wanted to."

"I think we should tell the police," Kwame said. "Even if we have only a suspicion. The only question is – will it get you into trouble?" He shifted his eyes to Wheeler.

Wheeler shook his head. "Do it soon enough and I can try to convince Clayton someone else turned him in. I hope he agrees I'm not dumb enough to turn Leon in so soon after meeting him."

"I'll call Brian," Gi said. "He can handle it."

The others nodded, and she left the room with her cell phone in her hand.

"Are we any closer to discovering who shot David?" Linka asked.

The others glanced around and eventually shook their heads.

"It could have been anyone from either gang," Kwame sighed. "Ma-Ti, are you any closer to Ronnie? You said he knows something..."

"I think he does," Ma-Ti answered. "Julie thinks he knows who shot David, but he will not open up about it. I have not had a chance to try and talk to him since she told me he was there that night. I am hoping to see them both before school goes back."

"I think if we get Ronnie to tell us what happened, we can get this wrapped up quickly," Wheeler said, sounding hopeful. "If one gang breaks down, maybe the other one will splinter too. Maybe people won't be so afraid to stand up for what's right once all the wrong things crumble."

Linka gave him a small smile and he felt a surge of hope and bravery. _I miss you, babe._

Gi returned a few minutes later. "Brian says he'll get in touch with the police and let them know about our theory." She glanced around a little guiltily. "He's on his way to the hospital. Do you guys mind if I go with him? I can stay if you want –"

"Go ahead, Gi," Kwame said immediately. "Let us know how David is."

She smiled gratefully, and looked to Wheeler. "Want a lift back to the house?"

He nodded tiredly. "Yeah."

Linka felt her heart sink. She was hoping they would both stay a little longer. She hated being split up and she hated feeling so frightened and stressed all the time.

When Brian arrived a few minutes later, Gi and Wheeler stood up to go, and Linka walked with them to the door.

"You didn't get hurt the other day, did you?" Wheeler whispered worriedly. "When Eli was shot?"

"I am okay," she promised. She felt a surge of affection for him as she realised how worried he looked, and she smiled at him. "I am just tired," she said.

"Me too," he answered. "I'll be glad to have this over with."

She nodded, and dared to look up into his eyes. He gazed down at her quietly, and lifted his hand, hesitantly laying his fingers against her cheek for a brief moment. "Be safe, okay?" he asked. "It's dangerous."

She nodded wordlessly. Her mouth was dry and she couldn't have spoken if she'd wanted to. She breathed slowly, parting her lips slightly and staring at him.

"Bye," he whispered. He brushed his finger against the underside of her chin and disappeared out into the rain again, lifting his jacket so it sheltered him from the cold drops.

Linka bit her lip and turned to Gi. She hugged her tightly. "I hope David has improved," she said. "Call me later?"

Gi nodded and gave her a small smile. "Bye."

Linka waved and closed the door, feeling the loss of their company immediately. For a moment she thought about throwing the door open and calling after them childishly, asking them not to leave her.

She missed the constant attention and affection Wheeler gave her. She felt alone and isolated.

She looked in on Kwame. He had stretched out on the couch and was looking up at the ceiling, obviously thinking over what they had all just talked about. Not wanting to disturb him, she continued on down the passage and into her bedroom, where she curled up on the bed and closed her eyes.

xXx

"Ma-Ti?"

The Heart Planeteer looked up in confusion. "Ronnie?"

Ronnie gave a shy smile. "Yeah. Hey."

"Hello." Ma-Ti sat up slowly. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to see if you were okay, after what happened at the school," Ronnie said quietly, stepping forward into Ma-Ti's bedroom. "We go back tomorrow and I guess I wanted to make sure you'd be in class. I hope you don't mind me stopping by. Linka let me in."

"It's okay," Ma-Ti said, motioning for him to sit on the end of the bed. "I will be in class tomorrow. How are you?"

Ronnie shrugged. He looked pale. "I knew Eli," he said after a moment. "He and Dog grew up together. He was always at the house, you know..." He shrugged. "All this fighting..."

Ma-Ti nodded. "I know. It does not make sense to me, either."

Ronnie looked guilty. "I'm thinking maybe Julie and I should just end things."

"Why?" Ma-Ti asked. His head throbbed. "You should not give in to people like Clayton."

"It's not just Clayton," Ronnie said desperately. "It's Dog, too. He and Clayton are both the leaders of their gangs and it's all getting out of control..."

"You should always stand up for what is right," Ma-Ti said. "If Julie is not afraid, you should not be afraid, either. Maybe you could talk to your brother to see if he could reach some sort of resolution with Clayton?"

"He doesn't want me to be with Julie, either," Ronnie said miserably. "He thinks she's spying for Clayton and we're going to give away The Wrecking Crew's secrets." He chewed his lip and frowned at the floor.

"Ronnie, will you tell me something?" Ma-Ti asked softly. "What happened at the shootout the night Mr. King was hurt?"

Ronnie shook his head. "I'd better go."

"Please, Ronnie," Ma-Ti whispered. "Finding out what happened that night could be the way to end all of this."

"It's not," Ronnie whispered fiercely. "Just stay out of it, Ma-Ti, okay? I don't know who shot Mr. King that night." He stood up and left hurriedly, and Ma-Ti sighed and flopped back onto the mattress.

Linka knocked on his door a few minutes later, smiling gently at him. "I made you some tea," she said. "Will you drink some?"

He smiled and waved her in. "I am pleased to see you smiling," he said. "This seems to be affecting you as much as it is me."

"Not quite," she said, handing him his mug of tea and sitting on the end of his bed. "What did Ronnie want?"

"To check up on how I am feeling," Ma-Ti sighed. "He refuses to talk about what happened the night King was shot."

Linka sighed. "I wish we were home," she whispered. "We seem to be going around and around in circles."

Ma-Ti nodded in agreement and sipped his tea. "I know what you mean."

xXx


	5. Comfort and Warmth

Gi seemed to be surviving on no sleep. She was relieved Wheeler knew how to make a mean cup of coffee – she didn't know how she'd be functioning, otherwise.

"No change in David's condition?" Wheeler asked as she trudged back into the kitchen after visiting the hospital.

"They've taken most of the machines away," she said. "He's still not awake, though."

Wheeler kissed her forehead. "He'll get better."

She nodded. The words didn't seem to have any effect on her, anymore. She was beginning to think David would never wake up.

Wheeler glanced out the kitchen window and froze. "Get upstairs," he said urgently. "Now. Quick. Don't come down." He shoved her gently towards the stairs and headed for the front door.

She hesitated when she glanced Clayton and his friends through the front windows. She wondered if it was wise, leaving Wheeler alone. She wondered if Leon had been arrested and whether or not Clayton was going to blame Wheeler for it...

Realising she had no way to defend Wheeler _or_ herself, she crept upstairs to watch from the landing, biting her lip and praying that Wheeler knew how to keep the situation under control.

Wheeler's heart was hammering madly when he opened the door.

"Hey guys," he said, offering a half-hearted wave.

The next thing he knew, he had his back pinned against the wall and he was staring down the barrel of a gun.

"This son of a bitch turned my brother in!" Theo roared, pressing the gun against Wheeler's forehead.

_Oh shit, I'm gonna be killed._

"What the hell are you talking about?" he asked, glaring at Theo and feeling very relieved that his voice seemed to hold no quiver or indication of nerves.

"Leon's sittin' in a jail cell under suspicion of wasting Eli," Theo snarled. "You find out where we get our guns and you turn Leon over to the police?"

"You think I'd be so dumb as to do it right after I meet him?" Wheeler snapped. His heart was racing but he couldn't risk wasting any time. Somehow he managed to protest his innocence – lies and ideas sprang into his head and he hurried to spill them into the air. "Man, someone set me up," he said, glaring around at the rest of the gang members. "Someone waited until I got in and set it up to make it look like I turned Leon over to the cops."

Clayton blinked. "Yeah, Theo, ease off him man," he said, narrowing his eyes and staring around at each of his friends in turn.

"I'm gonna find out who turned him in," Theo whispered icily.

"You do that," Wheeler said, glaring at him. "And when you do, I want a fuckin' apology."

Theo took a step back, watching Wheeler warily.

"Drop it, Theo," Clayton said suddenly. "This guy's clean."

Theo turned his eyes to Clayton. "How can you be sure? You take this guy to see Leon and then he's suddenly arrested?"

"Yeah, it's too soon," Clayton said. "Not even this guy is that stupid. Someone else did it and set Wheeler up." He glanced around. "I find out we have a snake in here, I'll take care of it," he threatened, his eyes shifting from one gang member to the next. They all shuffled nervously.

Wheeler felt a mixture of relief and anger welling up inside him. It seemed he was safe, for now. Maybe he'd even managed to fracture Clayton's group a little. Obviously, he didn't trust them very well.

Zap rubbed his jaw. "Maybe Leon fucked up," he said. "Maybe someone figured out it was him."

"Someone sure did," Theo snarled, glaring at Wheeler again.

"It wasn't me!" Wheeler snapped. "I had no idea, okay?"

"I didn't tell him nothin', so quit it, Theo," Clayton spat. "Calm the fuck down. We lose our heads here and everything falls to pieces." He shifted his eyes to Zap. "What makes you think he fucked up?"

"Someone knew it was him!" Zap argued. "Maybe they recognised him or somethin'."

"Hardly no one around here knows Leon well enough to recognise him like that," Theo protested.

"Come on man!" Zap cried. "Who knows how many things he's really involved with? He's sellin' us guns but Anton said he saw him out the back of the arcade sellin' drugs. He's got networks of people all over the place."

Theo shook his head vehemently. "Leon won't mess with drugs," he said.

"So he has no problem shooting someone in the head, but he won't mess with drugs?" Wheeler asked sarcastically. "He sounds real complex."

Theo looked furiously at Wheeler. "One more word, man, and your brains are all over that wall behind you."

"He's right, Theo," Clayton answered coldly. "Leon's involved in too much shit. Somethin' was bound to catch up with him. Maybe he was arrested for the drug thing and it had nothin' to do with Eli."

Theo shook his head. "It was for Eli. He ain't gettin' out. He's done for." He slumped against the wall.

"He won't turn us in, will he?" Clayton asked icily.

Theo shot him a look that sent a chill down Wheeler's spine. Clayton didn't bat an eyelid – he just glared back at Theo fiercely.

"Course he won't!" Theo snapped eventually. "Leon's a solid guy. He knew the risks and he'll take the fall alone."

"He'd better," Clayton snarled.

"Why Eli, anyway?" Wheeler asked suddenly. "What did he do?"

Clayton shrugged. "Main Dog's main man," he said, as though that explained everything. "One down, three to go."

"But they'll come after you now," Wheeler answered. "Wouldn't it be better to just bail out? Maybe try and put a stop to everything?"

"Man, what do you think we're tryin' to do?" Clayton asked incredulously. "Wipe out The Wrecking Crew and our troubles are over." He smirked. "It's about time we raised standards around here a little. Start makin' the place look a little more respectable."

"Someone else will just step up to the plate," Wheeler said, shaking his head. "It'll never be over. You're gonna end up dead, or in jail like Leon."

"Man, who the fuck is this guy?" Theo asked Clayton furiously. "He sounds like a cop trying to set us all straight." He glared at Wheeler again. "How about you shut the fuck up and mind your own business?"

"Let's all just split," Clayton interrupted. "You need to calm down. School goes back tomorrow and we need to keep our heads." He jabbed a finger at Wheeler. "I find out you _did_ turn Leon in, and you're gonna get a lot closer to Eli. Got it?"

"Yeah," Wheeler answered, holding Clayton's gaze.

The group drifted away, muttering amongst themselves.

Wheeler escaped back into the house, feeling sick and terrified. He seemed to be treading a very fine line and he wasn't sure how much longer he could keep his balance.

xXx

The cafe was crowded and noisy. Ma-Ti looked around and eventually spotted Julie sitting in a booth at the back. He gave her a small smile and sat opposite her. "Hi."

"Hello." She looked around nervously. "I'm not sure it's a good idea to meet you here."

"We can go somewhere else, if you like?"

She shook her head. "No, it's okay. I wanted to talk to you about Ronnie."

"Is he all right?"

She sighed and swept her hair back. "He thinks it would be better for us to break up," she said tearfully. "I don't want to – I don't want to give in to Clayton and Main Dog. I don't think love should give way to hatred like that."

For the first time since his arrival, Ma-Ti's headache eased greatly. He breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, Julie," he said. "I wish everyone thought like you did." He smiled at her. "I think you are right. I think you and Ronnie need to be brave."

She nodded. "Well – Ronnie said you keep asking questions about the night Mr. King was shot," she said.

Ma-Ti nodded, holding his breath and hoping he was about to learn something important.

"I don't have any proof of anything," Julie said. "I'm not really sure why you're so curious. I don't think anyone meant to shoot him. I think Clayton was trying to shoot at Ronnie and Mr. King got in the way."

"It was Clayton?" Ma-Ti asked.

"I don't know. That's just what makes the most sense to me," Julie said, shrugging. "Ronnie was only there because he wanted to talk his brother – Main Dog – out of it. The whole thing was meant to settle a territory battle. I don't know if it was settled or not. Now that Eli's gone, Clayton's gang seems to be winning."

Ma-Ti shook his head. "Nobody is winning, Julie."

She lowered her eyes. "I'm sure Ronnie knows who fired the bullet that hit Mr. King. But he won't talk about it. Every time I asked him about it, it starts an argument."

"Why is he afraid?" Ma-Ti asks. "Does he think going to the police will get him into trouble? They can help him..."

"He doesn't want to cause more friction with Dog," Julie confessed. "They are barely talking. I think seeing Ronnie there really angered him."

"Well, maybe if the two of us try to convince him, we can figure this out," Ma-Ti said. "I think if we do that, we can pull the gangs apart and people will start standing up for what is right."

"You really think so?" Julie asked hopefully.

Ma-Ti smiled. "There are always people who will stand up for what is right," he promised. "Always."

xXx

Gi lay awake, listening to the rain against the roof and the window panes. School started again tomorrow and they were no closer to discovering who had shot David. He was no closer to a recovery, and so the Planeteers were no closer to going home.

Clayton and Main Dog seemed to be avoiding each other, at least.

_Unless there is another school shooting_, she thought miserably. _Tomorrow could be even more dangerous than what David got caught up in._

She buried her face in her pillow, fighting tears. She missed the Planeteers. She wished Linka was in the bed next to her and she could unload her worries and let them float into the air and leave her. She wished she was home on Hope Island with the ocean rolling gently in the night and the feeling of comfortable security all around her.

She wished David would wake up. She was tired of going to the hospital and learning that his condition hadn't changed. She wondered if he'd ever wake up. She wondered if whoever had shot him would get away with it. Perhaps this was beyond the Planeteers.

She sat up and wiped her eyes, throwing her blankets back and scurrying out of the bed. The last thing she wanted right then was to be alone. She needed touch and warmth and comfort.

xXx

It took Wheeler a moment to realise the knocking was a real noise, and not something created in the depths of a dream. He sat up groggily, and noticed Gi's silhouette against his bedroom door, the light in the stairway framing her perfectly.

"What's the matter?" he asked, his voice thick with sleep.

"Wheeler..."

He flicked his lamp on when he heard the tears in her voice, and he could see now she was crying, tears streaming down her face.

"Is it King? What's happened? Gi..." He reached for her, kicking the blankets away, and she shook her head and clambered into his bed.

"No," she said, wiping her eyes. "No, nothing's happened. I'm just..." She shrugged helplessly and looked at him with eyes that were wide and full of tears.

"Hey, it'll be okay," he whispered, drawing her close.

She sniffed and wound her arms around his neck, burying her face in his shoulder. "It feels like we've achieved nothing," she sobbed.

"We're in amongst the kids that did it, Gi," Wheeler said, hoping it sound reassuring. "We'll find out who did it soon, I promise."

He stroked her hair, the action soothing him as much as it did her. He admired the way it slipped between his fingers, straight and silken. He let his hand move to the base of her neck, his fingers curling and uncurling against her skin.

"That feels good," she sighed, tears drying on her face.

He felt a jolt go through him when she pressed her lips against the curve of his shoulder and her fingers pushed gently into his hair. She kissed the point of his jaw and he felt her breath against his ear as she moved closer to him, shifting her weight so she straddled him properly. He steadied her gently, his hands on her hips, and looked up at her. Her eyes were deep and dark in the moonlight. He could see silvery tracks on her cheeks from her tears moments before.

She ran her fingers through his hair and he resisted the urge to shiver at the sensation of her fingers against his scalp. She forced his head back gently and his mouth opened automatically, expecting her kiss. She tasted slightly of salt, and mango and citrus lip balm.

He leaned back slowly, one arm supporting their combined weight against the mattress, the other around her waist, holding her hips against him. He became terribly aware of the fact that all he had on was a loose pair of cotton pyjama pants.

"Gi," he whispered, breaking the kiss gently.

"Don't," she whispered. _Don't stop it; don't question it. _She took his face again and pressed her mouth gently against his, tasting him with her tongue. Her worry and her grief had been overtaken by spiralling anticipation.

She felt him relax slightly, as though he'd given in – as though they'd already gone too far to explain it all away now. He leaned back against the mattress and the bed creaked under them – but they were alone, and the noise startled no one but themselves.

She pulled back slightly and watched him suck his lower lip, tasting her lip balm, his eyes sliding up to meet hers. The distraction she had found in him was developing into an ache that had started in her chest and was spreading to between her thighs.

In one clean, careful movement, she caught the hem of her t-shirt and pulled it over her head. She watched his gaze run over her bare skin. She wasn't nervous, or guilty, or worried. It was dark, and quiet, and he was warm and comforting and that was all she wanted. It wasn't about him, necessarily. If she had stopped to think, she would have thought honestly about her feelings and come to the conclusion that she had not premeditated any of this.

But it was past midnight and she had been stretched to breaking point, with everything that had happened lately, and right now his hands on her felt good, and strong, and healing. So she encouraged him softly, taking his hands and moving them to her breasts, and holding him against her for quiet kisses. She stroked his hair and moved her hips slowly and suggestively against him, hopeful that he'd roll her over and she could bury her face in his shoulder and focus on nothing but the smell of his skin and the movement of their bodies against one another.

Wheeler felt as though a thick fog had settled across his mind. It wasn't unpleasant – in fact, he liked the fact that Gi was kissing him, and he enjoyed the silken feel of her skin against him, and the soft swells of her breasts in his palms. He traced his fingertips over her back and kissed the pulse in her long, pale neck. Everything was slow and sweet and quiet, and he couldn't sense anything that indicated she would have different expectations of him tomorrow.

"Gi," he whispered again.

"No, don't." She shook her head, her breath on the bare skin of his shoulder, and he rolled her over slowly, settling between her thighs as she wound her arms tightly around him, the kiss between them deepening.

She let go of him only to lift her hips against him and push her cotton shorts away. When her hands went to his hips and tugged at the drawstring on his pyjamas, he pulled back and looked down at her, wanting to make certain she was sure of what she was doing.

She gazed up at him and he stroked her hair out of her eyes. In some deep, quiet corner of his mind, he knew he should be protesting this. He knew he should untangle himself gently from her limbs, and tuck her safely back into her own bed and tell her it would all be all right and none of this, between them, was needed.

But it was late, and they had both reached a point which was almost dream-like. The louder, foremost voice in his mind told him it didn't matter anymore. Gi would certainly be able to tell that his body held no protests against her attention. His hips seemed to ease themselves away from her of their own accord, and he could feel the cool air of the dark bedroom on his bare skin as he kicked his pyjamas aside. Protest and guilt, and the countless things that would be wrong and difficult after this – it didn't matter, anymore. None of it mattered but her hands on his skin, and her mouth against his, her lips soft and insistent.

He traced her body with his wide hands, exploring her soft skin. She felt so small against him – her body slim and fine, bent and arching beneath him as he traced sensitive nerves with his fingers. He ran his tongue along the warm pulse in her neck, and fumbled for the drawer in his bedside table, suddenly relieved that Clayton's bullshit joking around had left him prepared for the situation he was in now.

He pressed the square packet into her palm and kissed her again.

_It's up to you._

Gi gazed up at him, her breath heavy and wet, small panting noises escaping her as he ran his hands over her breasts again. She eased the packet open and he closed his eyes against her neck and moved his hips against her. She moved beneath him slowly, holding him to her, her mind blissfully blank of emotion as she focused on the physicality of movement and breathing and pleasure.

xXx

When Wheeler woke up, the sun was filtering yellow light through the window, and Gi was gone. The mattress beside him was cold, and he wondered if she had retreated to her own bed the moment he'd fallen asleep. He could remember curling around her sleepily, her silken hair soft against his face and her body smooth and warm in his arms.

He rolled over to look at the clock, and adrenaline kicked in as he realised he was running late.

"Shit." He tugged into a pair of jeans and pulled a shirt over his head. "Gi?"

He stopped outside her bedroom door and knocked, but she was gone. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, grabbing his books from the kitchen table and running out the door, hoping she was already at the school.

They needed to talk.

xXx


	6. Regret

"Hey."

Gi looked up in surprise, but relaxed when she saw Wheeler peering down at her.

"Don't sneak up on me like that," she breathed. "You gave me a fright."

"Sorry." He slung himself into the chair opposite her. "Hiding from me, are you?"

She smiled. "Hanging out in the school library can hardly be called hiding."

He raised his eyebrow. "Whatever." He leaned forward across the table. "You okay?"

She flushed slightly. "Uh-huh."

"Gi..."

"Look, we don't have to talk about it, do we?" she asked painfully. "It's nothing that needs to be analysed, Wheeler. It was just sex. You didn't take advantage of me or anything, and I'm not suddenly in love with you. So we don't need to discuss it."

"Load off my mind," he snapped, gathering his books up again. "Sorry for caring." He stalked away and she flipped her books shut and sighed, pillowing her face on her arms.

xXx

Linka saw Wheeler burst out of the library, his backpack hanging loosely from his shoulder, his shoelaces flapping loosely with each step. How he managed to avoid tripping over, she'd never know.

She watched him flop down under a tree and stare angrily down at his feet. The tips of his ears were red, and she knew this meant he'd probably had an argument with someone. Gi was the most likely candidate. Linka had seen her disappear into the library twenty minutes before.

She felt terribly isolated. Though she loved Kwame and Ma-Ti dearly, Gi and Wheeler were her closest friends, and here they all were on a mission, and she wasn't even allowed to be seen with them. She ached to talk to them again, and to have Wheeler lock his eyes on her and smile at her. She felt shaky and alone, and tired and vulnerable, and he always seemed to be able to make her feel better somehow – even if it was by provoking an argument.

She wondered if he'd tried this theory on Gi – starting an argument just as a distraction from misery. She doubted it, though. She'd become quite adept at reading the way he hunched his shoulders and knit his brows. Looking at him sitting beneath the tree, he looked very unhappy.

Glancing around, she tore a page from her notebook, and scribbled a hasty note before folding it neatly. Keeping an eye out for wandering students, she aimed her ring at the note. She had to concentrate hard, and it gave her a throbbing headache, but she managed to send the paper barrelling across the grass like a common piece of trash.

Wheeler grabbed it without thinking. His brow and his jaw ached from the intense frown he'd been working on as he fumed over the way things were with Gi.

_Just tried to make her feel better and she blew me off. Guess next time she's upset I'll offer her a roll in the sheets instead of a hug and a chat._

He scrunched the paper in his hand, looking blankly at it. _Fucking trash everywhere, too, and there's a garbage bin right there near the library._

Linka rolled her eyes, still watching him._ Read it, Yankee._

She jumped as Jacinta sank onto the bench beside her.

"Him? Forget it," Jacinta laughed, following Linka's gaze. "He's too friendly with Clayton for you to get involved."

"I am not looking at him," Linka answered hastily. "Just daydreaming."

Jacinta grinned. "Sure. Not sure what his story is, though. Everyone says he and that girl, Gi, are together, but I just heard them talkin' and it sounds like things are rocky."

Linka chewed her lip, debating whether or not it was a good idea to ask for more information. In the end, her curiosity won out. "What do you mean?" she asked.

Jacinta smiled at her. "They were havin' an argument about sex," she murmured, inspecting her nails. "Apparently when the deed was done, things changed. She said she don't love him and she don't want to talk about it."

Linka's blood ran cold. Jacinta was surely mistaken – she had misheard something.

"Guess there's trouble in the bedroom," Jacinta mused, staring across the grass at Wheeler. "Too bad. If he weren't so friendly with Clayton and his gang, _I'd_ sure like to get to know him."

Linka felt sweat break out on her brow. She wanted to ask questions – what exactly had been said, and how much room was there for misinterpretation? She shook her head slightly. Wheeler and Gi would not sleep together. They were friends – and besides, even if Linka did her best to hide her feelings from Wheeler, she had confided in Gi about her attraction to him on more than one occasion. Gi would certainly not betray her like that. Jacinta had merely heard part of the story Gi and Wheeler had invented to fool Clayton...

"Anyway I gotta go," Jacinta said, gathering her backpack up. "Tutorials during lunch break." She pulled a face. "Want to come along? You'd be the brainiest one there."

"_Nyet_, I will give it a miss," Linka said faintly.

"See you in history, then."

She nodded. She felt sick, and too hot. She shrugged out of her jacket and ran a hand over her face. She glanced to Wheeler again.

He was still staring down at his feet – but as Linka stood up to leave, he noticed for the first time that the paper he had caught had writing on it.

_Linka_, he thought immediately, noticing the familiar lettering: _The Queen of Hearts demands you cheer up. _

Linka watched. She had intended to be light-hearted, and to provoke a smile, and she waited nervously for one to appear on his face. Instead he just sat and stared at the paper in his hands, and her heart sank as guilt flitted across his face.

_It is not true_, she thought desperately. _It cannot be true. It is a mistake. Jacinta did not hear things properly. She misunderstood._ _They would not do that to me._

Still, she turned and hurried away before Wheeler looked up and spotted her.

xXx

"Wheeler?"

He slammed his locker shut and turned to Gi with a glare already set on his face. "Yeah?" he asked.

"Sorry," she whispered. She reached for his hand, and he let her take it, but he didn't encourage her by curling his fingers around her own.

"For what?" he asked, lowing his voice and gritting his teeth. "The sex, or the argument?"

She flushed. "Both?"

"Gi, this is bullshit," he whispered fiercely. "We're idiots, you know that? What the hell did we do that for?"

"I know..." She looked tearful. "Look – it was... I just needed it." She shrugged, and leaned against the lockers. "I don't know. I've never felt that way before. Everything just seemed so terrible, and then when I went in to talk to you, it all just..." Tears spilled down her cheeks. "I didn't want to talk, anymore."

"I'm an idiot," he whispered. "I shouldn't have..."

"No," she said, shaking her head. "Don't do that. It was as much my fault as it was yours." She squeezed his hand gently. "You don't hate me, do you?"

He felt his anger gradually sinking away from him. "No," he muttered. "I hate myself."

She wiped her eyes, though nobody seemed to be taking much notice. Tears in the school corridor weren't rare enough to garner attention.

"Please don't tell Linka," she whispered.

His stomach lurched at the thought of it. "Would she care?"

"Of _course_ she would," Gi moaned. New tears ran down her face. "Please don't say anything. Can we just – can we just forget it? At least for now? We can talk later..."

He nodded and sighed, brushing her tears away with his thumb. "Why don't you go home?" he asked softly. "I'll put it around you're not well. Go to the hospital and see your friend."

She hesitated for a moment, and then to his surprise, nodded.

"Yeah," she said tearfully. "I think I will. Hey – I'm going to send a message around to the others and tell them to come around tonight. Meeting at eight. I think we need to compare notes on what's going on. Maybe things are happening now that school is back."

Wheeler just nodded a mute agreement, and Gi squeezed his hand gratefully and left, disappearing into the crowd of students swarming between classrooms.

xXx

Linka walked quickly, her hands in her pockets, her head bent against the wind that streamed down the street. Kwame had waited behind for Ma-Ti, and she had gone on alone, almost sparking a rare argument with the Earth Planeteer as he insisted it wasn't a good idea for her to leave without him.

She cut through Mrs. Medina's yard and let herself into the house – deciding it wasn't a good idea to be seen hanging around on the porch. It was already growing dark outside, and she waited a moment for her eyes to adjust to the dim lighting inside the house.

"Wheeler?" she called. "Are you here?"

She made her way slowly down to the basement – the agreed meeting place. If someone came by, it was unlikely the Planeteers would be spotted together down here. It was a small room – carpeted but cold, and lit by a single bulb that was covered in a thick fuzz of dust. A pool table sat heavy and silent in the middle of the room – which was far too small for something so large – and a couch and several old arm chairs (most patched with duct tape) sat around the walls.

Wheeler was sprawled untidily on the couch, sleeping. She sat next to him carefully, watching his chest rising and falling with each deep, peaceful breath.

Knowing that Kwame and Ma-Ti wouldn't be too far away, she decided to wake him. Gently, though.

She traced the line of his jaw with her fingertip, listening to the soft scrape of stubble against her touch. He didn't move – until she moved her fingers to tremble gently against his lower lip, tracing the soft curve of it.

His mouth twitched and he smiled and sighed, turning his head. She traced the delicate curve of his ear with her little finger, pinching the lobe gently and smiling when he jumped slightly and his eyes finally opened.

"Oh, it's you," he breathed in relief. "For a second there, I thought a spider had me."

She smiled and he stretched, but didn't sit up.

"What time is it?"

"Ten to eight," she said. "Have you done your homework, Yankee?"

He pulled a face. "What do you think?"

She smiled, and hesitated a moment before she let her fingers slide gently over his cheek. "Are you as tired as I am?" she whispered.

He looked up at her. The lighting in the basement was poor, and cast too many shadows to be called reliable – but Linka looked exhausted. Her face looked pale and strained, and he could feel her fingers trembling. He took her hand and squeezed it gently.

They stared at each other for a long moment. She wanted to cry, and tell him she missed him and she was confused. She wanted to tell him she had heard things about him and Gi, and how it had made her feel, and how stupid it all was because she didn't want it to matter so much. But it _did_ matter. It did matter, because reality and pretence were becoming blurred and confused, and she was frightened that everything was changing too much and there were certain things that would never be able to change back to what they were before.

He gazed back at her. He felt guilty and sad – not sure where he stood with her _or_ with Gi, but knowing he wasn't in a place he wanted to be with either of them. He was exhausted and frightened, and he wanted to tell her he wished he'd been partnered with her, if only so he could keep them both running on stupid jokes and flirtatious bullshit that both of them loved beyond all acknowledgement. He figured she had the raw end of the deal. He loved Kwame like a brother, but he was serious and quiet, and not an affectionate sort of guy, and right then Linka looked like all she wanted was a shoulder to cry on.

He hadn't answered her question, but staring up at her, he didn't think he needed to. She ran her fingers gently through his hair and he swallowed, his mouth dry. He wanted to say _something_. Something to reassure her and tell her that they'd all be okay again soon.

"Babe," he whispered.

She broke the gaze and shook her head, and he saw the she was close to tears. He left it at that – that one word hanging between them; heavy with his exhaustion and his longing, and her anxiousness and confusion.

_Babe._

xXx

"David's not doing any better." Gi's voice was small in the shadowy basement. Ma-Ti squeezed her hand gently.

"Have faith, Gi," he said comfortingly. "I am sure he'll pull through."

The others all murmured agreement.

The pool table in the middle of the room was scattered with papers. Homework and assignments half-heartedly completed in order to keep up the illusion they were hiding behind, maps of the school and the known gang territories, lists of names and suspects scribbled on and crossed out. It was a confusing nest that had left them all with a headache.

"Cleaning the streets of these gun peddlers would be a big step in reducing the violence," Kwame said. "Leon seemed to be a big piece of the puzzle." Even he sounded exhausted, as though his voice came from somewhere far away.

"These kids don't need guns," Wheeler muttered. "Take away the guns and they'll use knives, or lead pipes, or homemade bombs. It's the attitude that's the problem – not the weapon of choice."

"Guns can do more damage than lead pipes," Kwame pointed out. "Violence is easier with a gun in your hand. We should be pleased that Leon is behind bars. It is an important step, having him taken out of the system."

"And the only one we've managed to achieve," Gi muttered.

"At least things didn't fly out of control today," Wheeler answered. "I thought Main Dog would retaliate, but the gangs seem to be avoiding one another. For the moment, at least."

"Maybe Clayton and the others will be a little more reluctant to act so violently now that they know the police are around," Ma-Ti said hopefully. "Perhaps they are frightened their guns could be traced now that Leon is in custody?"

"We can hope, Ma-Ti," Kwame agreed.

"I am still trying to convince Ronnie to talk," Ma-Ti said, sounding slightly frustrated. "Julie and I are trying to convince him the best thing for everyone is to find out what happened to Mr. King. The gangs really will be split up if someone is locked away for it."

Gi chewed her lip. "If David would only wake up... Maybe _he_ knows who shot him. I just want this to be over."

Wheeler glanced sideways to Linka, but she had fallen asleep at the end of the couch, curled up into a tight ball. She looked uncomfortable and nervous, even in sleep. He shrugged out of his jacket and draped it over her, letting his hand slide across her shoulder lightly.

She breathed out peacefully and he leaned back into the cushions, trying to refocus himself on the conversation between the other Planeteers.

"It looks like we have done all we can, for tonight," Kwame sighed. "We will talk again tomorrow. Hopefully we will learn something useful. I think this is beginning to take a heavy toll on all of us."

Wheeler looked at Gi. She looked utterly miserable.

"Yeah, time for bed," he agreed, getting to his feet and stretching. "You guys camping here?"

"I think it would be safer," Ma-Ti said. "I am nervous about wandering the streets at night around here."

"With good reason," Wheeler muttered. "See you in the morning, then."

Kwame paused to wake Linka, but Wheeler waved him on. "Leave her," he said. "I'll wake her in a moment."

Kwame just nodded tiredly and waved goodnight, moving slowly upstairs. Ma-Ti was not far behind.

Gi sighed and stared down at the scattering of papers across the pool table.

"Go to bed; I'll tidy this up." Wheeler started gathering the papers quietly. In the dim light of the basement, his skin looked blue and ghostly, and Gi realised just how exhausted he seemed. His movements were slow and careful, as though he moved underwater, and dark shadows clung to the delicate skin below his eyes.

"Thanks, Wheeler," she whispered.

He nodded and blinked tiredly, shuffling the papers into a tidy heap as she turned and headed for the stairs. On the sofa against the wall, Linka was curled into a ball, her head pillowed on her arm. Wheeler's jacket had been draped carefully over her shoulders, and Gi felt a surprising and unpleasant spike of jealousy.

She sighed and trudged up the stairs. She needed to rest.

xXx

"Linka?"

She stirred sleepily and blinked her eyes open, surprised to find herself still on the couch in the basement. Wheeler smiled down at her.

"You don't look very comfortable," he whispered. "The others have gone up to bed. Come on."

He helped her up and she realised she'd been blanketed by his jacket. She handed it back to him with a grateful smile and he shrugged into it as she got to her feet and raked her fingers through her hair in an effort to refresh herself.

"I have a headache," she sighed.

"Join the club, babe."

He made a move towards the stairs, expecting her to follow, but instead she sank back into the couch and buried her face in her hands, muffling a sob.

"Linka?" He stared at her in amazement for a moment, before his senses kicked in, struggling through his exhaustion, and he sat next to her, draping an arm gently around her shoulders.

"I am sorry," she sobbed, apologising for her tears. "I will be okay in a moment..."

"Take your time," he said, tugging her back against him and leaning back against the arm of the couch.

"It is so hard, being surrounded by so much hate," she wept.

"I know," he whispered. He shrugged himself down so he lay alongside her, his legs bent up and tangled against hers, their feet pushing against the other end of the couch. "It's not gonna last," he whispered. "We're here to fix it."

"It does not seem like we are fixing it," she sniffed, wiping her eyes.

"Not at the moment," he agreed softly. "We'll get there. I promise."

She smiled and tilted her head back, looking up at him with eyes that still swam with tears. "You promise?"

"Yeah, sure," he said, grinning down at her. "Cheer up, babe. I know it's hard, but you're tough. You can do it."

She slid a hand over his chest and curled her arm around his neck, hugging him. "I do not feel comfortable here, on this mission," she whispered. "Pollution and environment I understand. I do not understand human emotion, sometimes."

He kissed her forehead.

"I do not like being split up," she continued, closing her eyes. She could hear his heart and she pressed her ear closer against it, fancying that her own had begun to match his rhythm.

"Trying to tell me you miss me?" he asked, stroking her hair gently. He couldn't help but compare it to Gi's. Opposite to Gi's, Linka's hair was fair and curly, tangled and soft, and he took a moment to pull a ringlet straight and watch it curl up again.

"I do miss you," Linka admitted after a moment. "It feels strange, seeing you every day and not being able to talk to you. And seeing you act like someone so different."

He nodded quietly. _I feel like someone different. _

Linka breathed out slowly. "I am so tired," she whispered.

"Bed time," Wheeler answered.

"In a moment." She hugged him closer and he responded by winding his arms around her and crushing her against him. She started to cry again, burying her face against his shirt, deep sobs wracking her body.

Suddenly, he was convinced she knew what he and Gi had done, and guilt hit him hard.

"Linka," he whispered.

Then what? What could he possibly say to make either of them feel better?

_Gi was upset. We shouldn't have done it. Now I don't know what to do because I don't want to hurt either of you. But it's you I want, Linka. It's always been you._

_I'm sorry. _

_I love you._

"It's gonna be okay," he whispered.

xXx

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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	7. It's Doing Us A Lot Of Damage

"Maybe you should go home, Ma-Ti," Ronnie said worriedly. "You look sick..."

"I do not feel my best," Ma-Ti admitted. "But I think being home alone would make me feel worse." He wiped sweat from his brow and leaned his head down on his hands. "How can you stand it?" he asked shakily. "All this hatred in the air? Can you not feel it?"

Ronnie glanced around worriedly. "What do you mean?"

"The fighting between these gangs is only going to get worse," Ma-Ti said. "Now that Eli is gone, Main Dog is going to want revenge."

"Dog's not a bad guy, okay?" Ronnie asked desperately. "Wouldn't you want revenge if one of your friends was hurt?"

"Revenge does not work, Ronnie!" Ma-Ti cried weakly. "Eli is dead. He does not deserve to be dead – but if Main Dog shoots one of Clayton's friends, he will simply retaliate again. And then who will be next? Main Dog? You? Julie?"

Ronnie slumped in his seat. "It's complicated, Ma-Ti," he said. "That's the way things have always been, and it's not gonna be fixed anytime soon."

"Why not?" Ma-Ti asked angrily. "At what point is someone going to stand up for what is right?" Clutching his hand to his head, he staggered to his feet. "Ronnie, you know what happened the night Mr. King was shot. You know who hurt him. It is wrong for you to protect them – no matter who it was." He gave Ronnie a meaningful look and left the classroom. He couldn't stay there anymore – he had to get out.

Things were changing – not just within the gangs, but within the Planeteers. He could feel them shifting and wandering around him in confusion. Linka seemed to be isolating herself from the others – craving the company of Gi and Wheeler and withdrawing into her own anxiety and fear. He was worried about her.

Gi, too, was feeling the strain. He knew she blamed herself whenever things went wrong, and she was terrified she was going to get one of the Planeteers hurt. He wasn't sure if she'd ever forgive herself if something happened to one of them on this mission.

There was something else there, though. A guilt that she and Wheeler seemed mixed up in. He had tried to probe into it a little as they all gathered around the pool table to compare notes the previous evening, but it had hurt, and he was weak anyway. Whatever it was, they were not willing to share the information with anyone. They were both treading around one another carefully. However, despite the guilt and the fear and the anxiety that everyone shared, Ma-Ti had felt slightly comforted when they were all together the previous evening. He supposed that being together and having to rely on one another so closely meant Wheeler and Gi were sending out invisible waves of support, which had made him feel a little better.

He sank to the steps at the front of the school. The yard was empty – classes had started. He wondered if he should go back, but his head still hurt too much. If it hadn't been for the gangs and the headaches, Ma-Ti would have been able to enjoy this mission. He had never attended school. Sometimes he wondered if he was missing out – the Planeteers would have to end sometime.

He wondered what sort of a life he'd be left with when that day came.

xXx

"I'm glad they shifted us," Jacinta whispered to Linka as they walked into their new classroom. "Don't think I could stand being in the same room Eli died in."

Linka nodded mutely. She felt horrendously guilty about obsessing over Wheeler and Gi when there were more obvious and terrible problems at hand. She didn't even know if there _was_ a problem between Wheeler and Gi.

She turned to Jacinta, intent on asking _exactly_ what she had overheard – but Jacinta was gone. She'd turned her back and was giggling something to Kwame, who was smiling and shaking his head.

Linka's heart sank and she shrank down in her seat. She felt even more alone.

"I have forgotten a book," she said suddenly, to no one in particular. She didn't think Kwame or Jacinta even noticed as she got up and hurried out of the classroom.

She gasped when she ran straight into someone. Her books fell to the floor and she grabbed at the nearby row of lockers to right herself again.

"Watch where you're going," Main Dog snarled.

Linka looked up at him. He looked just as tired as she did – and grieved, and strained.

"I am sorry about your friend," she said, without thinking the phrase through.

Main Dog stared down at her for a long time, and she wondered if she should apologise. Or run. He probably had a gun hidden beneath his clothing, and any wrong words or movements could provoke him into using it.

"Yeah," he said after a moment. He swallowed. "S'okay. It'll be evened out." He lifted his chin and disappeared into the classroom.

Linka tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and gathered up her books before she wandered up the now-empty corridor.

This mission seemed too much. Too heavy and too dangerous, and already too much had been lost. She had witnessed a life stolen away needlessly, and the fabric of everything that made her feel secure and happy and loved seemed to be coming apart at the seams.

She wanted to go home before she lost everything.

xXx

Gi was furiously scribbling notes in her notebook. Wheeler was watching her out of the corner of his eye, silently amazed. He didn't know how the hell she could concentrate on anything, let alone write so rapidly. Now and then her hand would dart to a completely different area of the page and he'd see her mark out Korean lettering in neat lines before she returned to her desperate scribbles in English.

"What the hell are you doing?" he muttered, keeping one eye on the front of the classroom. "You've written more than the teacher has."

"I'm writing to Linka," Gi answered.

Wheeler's heart plummeted. "What?" he asked.

"Is there a problem back there?" the teacher asked, standing with her hands on her hips.

Wheeler bent his head back to his text book.

"I've got to get it out," Gi whispered, once the teacher's attention had been diverted again. "I'm not gonna show her."

"Please just leave it," Wheeler answered, gazing desperately at her. "You and I need to talk..."

She shifted her eyes away from him and shook her head. "I just have to get it out. I'll burn this when I'm done. I won't send it. I swear."

"If you two have something to say to one another, maybe you'd like to share it what the class?" the teacher asked, noticing them again.

They both shook their heads quickly and bent over their notebooks.

"Bitch," Wheeler muttered, glaring at the teacher's back as she turned to the chalkboard.

Gi gazed down at her ink-scribbled page. The paper had started to curl at the edges because she had pressed the pen so deep. Whenever her brain had moved too fast for her hand, she had switched to Korean – she was faster, then, and there were some words and phrases she couldn't find the proper expression for in English.

It didn't matter, anyway. Linka was never going to see it.

_We have to bury all of this_, Gi thought desperately. _Linka can never know. If she finds out what I did..._

She stole another glance at Wheeler. _She loves him. She told me she loves him, and look what I've done now. I'm her best friend..._

She cringed and flipped the page, starting anew. But no matter how long she thought, or how many pages she wrote, there would be no justification and no apology sound enough to undo what she and Wheeler had done.

xXx

"I should find Linka," Kwame said worriedly. "It is not like her to miss class."

"She probably went home," Jacinta said gently, laying her hand on his arm. "She didn't look very well this morning. Maybe she's still upset about what happened to Eli."

"Maybe," Kwame said, glancing up and down the crowded corridor. Students were filing out to lunch, laughing and jostling one another.

"Come and have some lunch," Jacinta said persuasively. "Linka's a big girl. She can look after herself." She hooked her arm through Kwame's and led him towards the cafeteria. He followed her, but clenched his jaw and furrowed his brow, concentrating hard.

_Ma-Ti, Linka was not in class._

He listened desperately, hoping Ma-Ti had been able to hear him. He breathed a silent sigh of relief when he received a faint answer – just a whisper, but an answer all the same.

_She is with me._

"So maybe you could tell me more about where you're from?" Jacinta asked hopefully, handing him a lunch tray. "I feel like I don't know much about you..." She smiled up at him, and he smiled back.

It was hard not to like her.

xXx

"I wish the rain would stop," Ma-Ti said, tilting his head back to look up at the heavy sky.

"_Da_, me too," Linka answered distractedly.

Ma-Ti looked at her carefully. She was pale and gaunt – hugging herself and gazing down at the wet pavement in front of them.

"Linka?" he asked. "Is something wrong?"

"_Nyet_, Ma-Ti. I am just tired." She smiled at him. "This mission is difficult."

He nodded. "I know. You just do not seem yourself..."

She shrugged. "I will be all right. But I do not think I want to be in class today. I missed everything this morning and I am not feeling any better now. I think I will go home."

"Do you want me to walk with you?" he asked.

"_Nyet_ – you should go and find Ronnie. I will be fine. I just need to rest for a while."

He nodded and reached over and squeezed her hand gently. She gave him a small smile and got to her feet.

She felt lightheaded and sick. She wondered if perhaps she should eat something, but the thought turned her stomach.

She was beginning to wonder if the damage from this mission could ever be repaired. If Wheeler and Gi really had been together...

She blanched and ran her hands through her hair. _They would not do that to me._

Ma-Ti saw her stagger slightly, and he was going to run after her, but she recovered and walked purposely through the school gate.

_Something is wrong,_ he thought worriedly. _Something else. Something has happened to us and I think it is doing us a lot of damage..._

"Ma-Ti!"

He jumped and turned around. Julie was pelting towards him, breathing heavily.

"Ma-Ti, I've done it," she breathed, clutching her side and smiling at him. "I've convinced Ronnie to tell you what happened to Mr. King."

"You have?" Ma-Ti asked. He felt a leap of joy and hope in his heart.

Julie nodded. "You're right," she said. "If we stand back and do nothing, we're just as bad as the gangs themselves."

"I did not say that, Julie," Ma-Ti said kindly. "But I am glad you are going to stand up for what is right."

She smiled. "He is afraid to tell you while school is still in session," she said. "He doesn't want anyone to overhear. Can we come by your house tonight?"

Ma-Ti nodded urgently. "Of course."

Julie smiled and he felt relief sweep over him as she spoke again. "We can end things, Ma-Ti. Things are going to get better."

xXx

"I don't know why you'd move here," Jacinta sighed, closing her locker after loading her books into her bag. "I can't wait to get out of here."

"Where would you go?" Kwame asked curiously. Since learning that Linka had simply gone home for the day, he'd relaxed a little and found himself enjoying Jacinta's company.

"Anywhere," she sighed. She glanced around the corridor and spotted Main Dog. She winced. "Anywhere away from people like him."

"Down-gradin'," Main Dog remarked as he passed by Jacinta and Kwame.

Jacinta spun and glared at him, and he smirked.

"Step back to me, baby?" he asked.

"That really would be a step back," she snapped. "Fuck off."

Kwame blinked, but Main Dog seemed unfazed. He chuckled and sauntered away again.

"Sorry," Jacinta muttered. She slipped her hand into Kwame's and smiled at him. "Don't pay any attention to him."

"You used to date him?" Kwame asked curiously. He didn't tighten his hand around hers – but he didn't tug away, either. He felt as though he should fight whatever budding relationship he might he beginning with Jacinta. He was there to work, and anything else would just be an added complication.

But he let her keep her hand in his, and he let her lead him up the corridor towards the doors, where students were milling about and spilling out into the rain, heading home for the day.

"I used to date him," Jacinta confirmed after a while. "It was a mistake."

"I heard he was involved in Mr. King's shooting," Kwame said daringly.

"He probably was," Jacinta sighed. "I dunno. He can be sweet, sometimes, you know? And he really cares for Ronnie. He'd do anything for him. He doesn't want Ronnie to end up in a gang like him. He wants him to go on and get an education..." She shrugged. "But he won't give in. He and Clayton will end up killing each other."

"Have you tried to talk him out of it?" Kwame asked. "Tried to convince him that there are better ways to walk through life?"

She gave a hollow laugh. "He won't listen to me, Kwame. And logic doesn't work on people like Main Dog." She shrugged. "I thought maybe Eli's death would be enough to get him to pull back – but it looks like it's just going to get him deeper and deeper into trouble."

"Why would you say that?" Kwame asked cautiously. "Is something being planned?"

Jacinta looked uncomfortable, and she shrugged. "I don't know," she admitted. "But Eli's death isn't going to be ignored. This isn't over yet."

xXx

Linka was curled up on her bed, listening to the rain. It was torrential – pouring down the windows in thick rivulets and rushing through the gutters and drains with loud gushing and gurgling sounds.

She wasn't sure how long she'd been laying there. The afternoon seemed to be sliding by steadily. She closed her eyes. She wished the sun was shining. It would be easier to have happier thoughts, if the sky happened to be blue and the sun happened to be pressing warm against her window.

_Jacinta got it wrong,_ she thought tiredly, unable to let the subject go. _Perhaps Gi and Wheeler knew she was there and they were putting on an act. _

She bit her lip, not liking that excuse even if it were true. Besides – Wheeler had looked guilty, yesterday, and Gi hadn't spoken to her once.

She jumped up and snatched her jacket from the hook on the back of her door. She pulled it on and headed straight out into the rain, barely noticing it as it immediately drenched her, causing her hair to hang in thick dreadlocks and cling to her face and neck. She hurried along, her head bowed.

She had to talk to them. She had to find out for sure.

She had to tell Wheeler how she really felt.

xXx

Ma-Ti, caught up in the anxious excitement he'd been feeling since speaking with Julie that afternoon, had pulled Kwame away from Jacinta with several apologies and had explained in hurried breaths that they had to get back to the house and contact the others – things would be over soon.

"Are you sure, Ma-Ti?" Kwame asked anxiously, following the Heart Planeteer as he hurried along the street.

"Julie said he wants to tell me what happened," Ma-Ti confirmed. "I need you to find the others. The sooner we get this over with, the better."

Kwame glanced at him. Ma-Ti's face was pale and covered in a light sweat, as though he was under constant exertion.

"Ronnie is coming to the house?" Kwame asked again, needing everything triple-checked.

"Yes," Ma-Ti answered patiently, digging his keys out of his pocket. "I think we all need to be together for this. When Ronnie tells us what has happened, we need to act quickly. Can you get hold of Wheeler and Gi?"

Kwame nodded and Ma-Ti hurried towards Linka's bedroom. His heart felt light and joyous for the first time since leaving Hope Island. The mission seemed so close to ending, now. Ronnie would be there at any moment with information about the night David had been shot, and the Planeteers could finally wrap things up, hopefully destroying the gangs in the process and encouraging Ronnie and his friends to stand up for what was right.

"Linka!" he called, knocking on her door. It swung open to reveal her bed, empty and rumpled. The room was cold. He glanced around in confusion and automatically clenched his fist, forcing himself to focus and sweep the area for her presence.

He didn't know what happened, after that. His knees buckled and he gave a cry of pain, a brief snapshot of Linka flashing into his mind's eye before everything went blank.

**xXx**


	8. Stupid Mistakes

Wheeler met Gi at the top of the landing. She was towelling her hair with her fingers, shivering slightly.

"Hey," he said softly. "Is he any better?"

Gi shrugged. "It's hard to tell," she said, crossing to the window by the top of the stairs. She glanced out into the street. The rain was still pouring down steadily. "The doctors say he's showing signs of improvement, but he still looks like he's in a coma to me."

"Well, I guess the doctors know what they're talking about," Wheeler said, putting his hand on her shoulder.

She leaned up and kissed him softly. "I guess."

He put his hands on her waist and she kissed him again, her hands moving to the front of his t-shirt and tugging lightly at the material.

He broke the kiss gently. "Gi, we can't do this again," he whispered, dropping his hands from her waist.

She lowered her eyes. "Yeah, I know... But..." She shrugged helplessly and looked up at him. His face was all light and shadow, and the pattern of the rain on the window showed against his cheek.

She ran her hand lightly down the front of his t-shirt and hooked her fingers into the waistband of his jeans, gently tugging his hips closer to her.

"It doesn't have to mean anything," she whispered, stretching up to him again. Her lips were just an inch or two away from his and he'd bent his head unconsciously closer to her.

"But it does mean something," he whispered. "Being here – it makes us feel different. Awful, actually." He rested his forehead against hers. "Finding comfort in one another doesn't have to go that far."

"I know," she answered softly. She ran her fingers along his jaw. "It was sort of nice, though."

He smiled, and kissed her forehead. "Yeah, I know. But what about when we go home, huh? I don't want to ruin things with you..."

"Are you ever worried about ruining things with Linka?" she asked.

He froze, and pulled away. "Huh?"

She looked down at the floor and her cheeks were pink. "I'm not asking you to love me or anything," she said. "I just want to know why you're worried about ruining a friendship with me and not ruining one with Linka."

He opened his mouth and then closed it again. "It's just different with Linka," he whispered eventually.

"Because she's beautiful, and I'm not," Gi accused. The flush on her face deepened to crimson and she looked upset and embarrassed.

"You're beautiful," Wheeler said instantly, his voice soft and low. He ran a thumb over her cheek. Her skin was still damp and cold.

She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "No."

"You are," he promised.

"Stand me next to Linka and say that," she whispered. "Stand me next to the leggy, green-eyed blonde and try to keep your attention focused on me."

His stomach had started to hurt at the mention of Linka. "Gi, come on," he said, dropping his hand.

"I get so jealous sometimes," she admitted, lowering her eyes in defeat as she uttered this admittance to him. "Not because – I mean, it doesn't have anything to do with you. I don't..." She trailed off and shrugged. "Sometimes it'd just be nice for someone to look at me like I'm a beautiful girl. Like you look at Linka." She tilted her head up to him again and her eyes swam with bright tears. "You look at me and you just see plain old Gi. One of the guys."

"Believe me, I don't see you as one of the guys," Wheeler muttered, avoiding her eyes.

"Wheeler... This is all..." She closed her eyes and rested her forehead against his chest, moving her arms to surround his waist. He hesitated for a moment, but he slipped his arms around her and he hugged her gently.

Gi breathed in the warm scent of him. "This mission sucks," she whispered.

"You can say that again." He rested his chin on the top of her head.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. She let out a sudden sob and he was filled with dismay.

"Gi, come on," he murmured gently, cupping her face in his hands and looking down at her. "It's not your fault."

"It is," she wept. "I brought us all here without really understanding how dangerous it was going to be. I was so stupid to think we could change the way these kids think. They're all carrying guns..." She shook her head and buried her face in his chest again. "Why the hell should they listen to us, huh?" she asked bitterly. "We're the new kids at the school, who have no idea what it was like growing up around here. No idea on the history between these gangs and why these kids are the way they are." She scoffed bitterly. "Yeah, they're gonna listen to us." She squeezed her eyes closed and tears ran down her face, soaking into the material of Wheeler's t-shirt.

"We're gonna find out who did it, okay?" Wheeler promised. He kissed the top of her head again. "It's not gonna be pretty, Gi, but sometimes you've gotta show these kids the consequences of their actions before they really start to think about changing themselves. And for a lot of them, it's gonna mean jail time. Like Leon."

"Guess there can't always be a magic solution," she mumbled.

Wheeler stroked her damp hair quietly, and for a few moments they listened to the rain hitting the windowpane. Water trickled from the broken spouting outside.

"I just hope David wakes up," Gi said miserably. "What if he dies?"

"He won't," Wheeler answered softly.

"But what if he does?" she asked again, leaning back and looking up at him. "Or – or what if one of us gets hurt, huh? What if something happens to one of us because I brought us here?"

"Gi, come on –"

"Maybe we should just go home." She closed her eyes and leaned against him again, her arms fitted snugly around him. "Maybe we should just give up."

"You've never given up on anything," Wheeler whispered. "You're not gonna start now, okay?" He kissed the top of her head again, and she shifted, tilting her head upwards and brushing her lips gently against his.

"It feels like everything is out of control," she said. "Feels like I'm about to break into pieces."

She stretched up onto her tiptoes and pressed her lips against his, kissing him firmly.

He didn't respond at first, but when her hands slid over his shoulders and her fingers pushed into his hair, he cupped her hips in his hands and pulled her closer.

She sighed quietly, breathing through her nose and opening her mouth so he could move his tongue against hers.

Outside, Linka looked up at the shadowy figures silhouetted behind the window on the top floor, and froze.

She shook her head in amazement, her eyes wide. Rain ran across her skin and dripped off her nose, but she didn't notice it. She watched as they broke apart, and then Wheeler ducked his head again to meet Gi in another kiss, before they moved out of sight. The light in his bedroom came on.

She stood still for a long time. The rain beat down around her. She seemed to wake up after a while, but the bad dream didn't seem to end. She turned and walked away quickly, not caring about where she was going. She just needed to get out of there.

It was confusing. For some reason she suddenly felt intense hatred towards Gi. For a few scary moments, Linka had several violent thoughts, and in the imagined scenarios, Gi was suffering the brunt of her actions.

Wheeler, however...

When she thought of Wheeler, it just hurt. She didn't really feel any hatred towards him – not like the rage she was feeling against Gi – but she felt betrayed.

_I have no right to feel betrayed by Wheeler,_ she thought bitterly. _I never told him how I feel about him. I pushed him away for so long... I should not blame him for looking elsewhere._

She wiped her eyes, her head bent against the rain. She was only vaguely aware of being wet and cold, and that the night was sweeping in rapidly. The evening had turned indigo, and she was walking through white patches of streetlight with the rain heavy and loud on the pavement.

A car backfired a block or so away, sweeping away the thoughts of Wheeler and Gi and replacing them with the realisation of where she was. For a moment she was hit with uncontrollable panic, and she realised just how utterly stupid she had been.

She glanced around nervously, trying to get her bearings. She had been so caught up in trying to escape the scene of Wheeler and Gi she hadn't given any thought about where she was going.

She was cold, and wet, and alone.

"You lost, sweetheart?"

The voice came out of nowhere, and she jumped and spun around.

Clayton. He stood opposite her, rain running down his skin. He cocked his head at her. "Saw you at Wheeler's," he said softly. "You doin' some spying for Main Dog?"

"_Nyet_, it is – I am just lost," she stammered. "It is not like that."

He stepped closer to her, leaning over her with a leer. "This is America, baby. In this country, we say _no._"

She blinked up at him, rain drops and tears still clogging her lashes.

"Say it," he ordered softly.

"What?" She shrank back from him. _Is my ring going to work, if I have to use it here? _

"Correct yourself," he said. He took another step towards her. "That Russian bullshit got no place here..."

She glanced around nervously. She wasn't sure whether to be relieved or worried when she saw nobody else.

"Just you and me," Clayton said. He was towering over her now.

Linka clenched her fist, but she already knew it was useless. She felt no surge of power running down the nerves in her arm, indicating that her ring was live and ready. Hatred hung in the air of this neighbourhood like thick, invisible smog.

"So you wanna tell me what you were doing outside Wheeler's place?" he asked.

She searched frantically for an excuse – but the reality was, she didn't have one. She had made a stupid, careless mistake, fuelled by her own emotions, which were anything but logical and clear. Now she was alone, and frightened, and in the company of someone who wouldn't bat an eyelid at the thought of seriously hurting her.

Clayton chuckled and took hold of her arm. "C'mon sweetheart," he said, tightening his fingers around her flesh. "You and I are gonna have a little chat – somewhere nice and quiet."

xXx

It was different, this time. The blanket of exhaustion and spontaneity had been lifted. This time, Wheeler and Gi both knew what they were doing, and there were no shadows to hide behind.

_We shouldn't be doing this._

The thought occurred to both of them several times, but neither stopped nor broke contact. Gi's shirt lay rumpled on the floor beside the bed, and her jeans were unbuttoned and open. She closed her eyes and let a lazy smile spread across her face as Wheeler tracked kisses down her neck.

He cupped a breast in his palm and stroked his thumb over the thin material of her bra, feeling her nipple stiffen under his palm. She arched up to his touch, wrapping her legs around his waist.

"That feels good," she sighed, lifting her arms so they rested over her head.

He pressed kisses across the soft skin of her chest and wriggled down so his hands were on her hips. He inched his mouth lightly down the flat plane of her stomach. Outside, the rain fell steadily.

He had just reached the open material of her jeans when she froze and lifted her head. "Stop," she said urgently.

"What?" He looked up in surprise.

"Shh!" she hissed. She cocked her head, and then he heard it too. The back door, and a voice calling them.

"Shit." He sprang away from her and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Where's my shirt?" she asked frantically, trying to button her jeans.

He tossed it at her and disappeared into the corridor.

"Wheeler?"

"Up here," he called, casting a quick glance back towards Gi. He hurried down the stairs. Kwame stood in the foyer, dripping wet and looking worried.

"Where is Linka?" he asked.

"Linka?" Wheeler felt a surge of guilt. "Not here; I have no idea. I haven't seen her all day. She's not here. Definitely not here." He pressed his mouth shut, realising he sounded frantic.

Kwame didn't appear to notice. He put a hand to his forehead. "She left. We think it was about half an hour ago. Ma-Ti's headache..." He shook his head. "We think she is in trouble."

"Where'd she go?" Wheeler asked in alarm.

"Ma-Ti thought she was headed here," Kwame said. "She did not arrive?"

Wheeler felt sick. "No..."

"There is no sign of her anywhere," Kwame said worriedly. He shook his head and started pacing. "She _knew_ how dangerous it was," he groaned. "Why would she run off by herself?"

_Because she's upset,_ Wheeler thought immediately. Guilt hit him hard. He had an awful idea that Linka knew exactly what he and Gi had been up to. What if she'd come in and seen them, and they hadn't noticed?

"Shit." He sank to the bottom stair. "What does Ma-Ti think?"

"He cannot get out of bed," Kwame said worriedly. "He is in pain. He thinks Linka is in trouble. He has been trying to reach you, but things are bad..." He shook his head again.

"What's going on?" Gi asked, joining them.

"Linka is missing," Kwame said. He glanced back towards the windows and out into the rain. "I am going to look for her."

"Me too," Wheeler said immediately. "Kwame, you shouldn't go out there. If Clayton sees you –"

"I can take care of myself," he said sternly.

Wheeler swallowed, and nodded. "Yeah, okay."

"I'll come with you, Kwame," Gi said immediately. "If Clayton sees us, we'll think something up."

"Someone should stay here in case Linka shows up," Kwame said, shaking his head. "Keep the doors locked, Gi. Call my cell if you hear from her."

"Have you tried calling hers?" Gi asked, realising it was probably a stupid question.

Kwame wrung his hands. "She left it in the kitchen," he said. "She does not have it with her."

"_Shit_," Wheeler said again. He felt panicked. He leapt to his feet and grabbed his sweatshirt from the back of the couch. "Let's go."

xXx

Linka's breath came in panicked gasps, though she had done her best to stay calm. Her voice seemed to have frozen up entirely. Clayton held her by the back of her jacket, and he pushed her forward into the factory. Rats scurried away in the dim light. Huge windows – most of which were broken, showed grey light and rain into the main room, which was empty but for two large boilers against the far wall.

"What are you doing?" Linka asked, her eyes darting left and right for an escape route. If she could get free of him, she could possibly slip through one of the large gaps that used to serve as windows. She could see overgrown shrubbery and figured she could hide, if she needed to.

"What are _you_ doing?" Clayton snarled, shaking her a little. "Spying on Wheeler's house?"

"_Nyet_ – no, of course not," she denied. "I am lost – I could not –"

He laughed bitterly. "Sure."

She tore herself loose, wrenching free of her jacket and leaving it hanging limp in his hand. She pelted across the floor of the factory, sending up small clouds of dust as she ran. She could hear him chasing her, and she realised with horror she wasn't going to have time to slip through one of the broken windows and escape into the rain and the shrubbery outside. She skidded to a stop and ducked under his arm before pelting back the other way, little sobs escaping her with each panicked breath.

He threw her jacket at her feet and she fell heavily, skidding across the floor. He landed on top of her, breathing heavily.

"Bitch," he spat, rolling her onto her stomach.

"Stop!" she gasped. She kicked and wriggled under him. She heard material ripping, and realised he was tearing her jacket to shreds, using a knife to plunge through the material.

"You do not understand," she pleaded. "I was not spying! I know Wheeler; I am friends with him –"

"Sure you are," Clayton laughed. He pinned her wrists to the small of her back and bound them with the strips of material he'd cut from her jacket. She winced as he pulled the knots tight.

"I am telling the truth!" she cried, trying to kick away from him as he rolled her over.

To her horror, he straddled her, pinning her down heavily and grinding her body into the floor. He brought his gun out and set it gently on the floor beside her, before flicking the blade of his knife to life again.

"How about this?" he asked softly, tilting it in front of her wide eyes. "I'm gonna ask you some questions. You tell me the truth, and I'll put the knife away and you don't get hurt. But if you lie to me, Princess..." He trailed off and let his knife settled against the soft skin of her cheek.

"Stop," Linka pleaded.

"Shh," he whispered. "So tell me... Are you are cop? Undercover?"

"What are you talking about?" she asked nervously, wriggling under him. "Of course I am not..."

"Guess that's a little far-fetched," he agreed. "But you and those other new kids. You and Wheeler, and the others. You're not really students, are you."

"You are making a mistake," she pleaded. "I do not know what you are talking about."

He laughed. "Sure you don't."

He grabbed her face in his hands and pulled her to him, kissing her forcefully. She screamed against his mouth and kicked her legs, trying to break free of him. For a brief moment she thought she was going to be sick.

When he dropped his hold again, she started spitting insults at him – the worst ones she could dredge up. Words she had never spoken aloud before tumbled vehemently from her mouth.

Clayton laughed, and pushed her back to the floor. "Thought I told you we spoke English here?" he said, wrapping his fist in her t-shirt. "If you're gonna insult me, do it in a language I can understand."

"You will not get away with this," she babbled, twisting and struggling beneath him. "The police are watching you, Clayton. You cannot –"

"So you _are_ talkin' to the police?" he asked. "You and Wheeler." He scoffed and shook his head. "Man, I knew I shouldn't have trusted him." He smirked down at her. "Never mind." He bent and ran his tongue across her neck and she groaned and squeezed her eyes closed.

_Wheeler, please come and help me._

Another deep, angry jolt of fear ran through her again when she realised she was truly alone. Wheeler was obviously not coming. He was with Gi...

"You know what really tipped me off?" Clayton asked softly, his tongue still against her skin.

She shuddered and gazed up at him in terror as he pulled back and leaned over her.

"You've all got those same rings on," he said. "Like you're in a secret club, or somethin'. I thought it was lame when Wheeler and Gi were wearin' matching ones, and then I see you and your other little friends wearin' 'em too, and I gotta believe it's just a coincidence?"

He slapped her hard across the face and she gasped at the pain.

"How fucking stupid do you think we all are?" he asked. "You think you can come in here and join up with whoever the fuck you want, and all spy around the place? Wheeler selling secrets to you and the others, is he?"

She sobbed and wriggled feebly beneath him again before giving up.

"You know, when girls go missin' around here, no one really cares," Clayton murmured, stroking his fingers across her cheek. "But you? Pretty white girl? Yeah, the cops are gonna work hard to figure out where you went, and why you were around here." He gripped her t-shirt in his hands and bent down, his face just inches from hers.

"Unless they already know what you're doing in this neighbourhood?" he asked.

She shook her head timidly. "I am not what you think I am," she said pleadingly. "You are making a mistake..."

He scoffed, and she flinched when she saw him produce the knife again.

"Better keep still," he said. "I wouldn't want to slip and send this through the side of your throat or anythin'."

She gave a moan of frightened desperation as he carefully moved the collar of her t-shirt aside to expose the strap of her bra. He sliced through the material slowly, smiling as she squirmed and trembled under him at the feel of the blade so close to her skin. He cut through the other strap just as slowly, letting the blade settle against the warm skin of her shoulder for a moment.

He reached under her shirt when he was done and pulled the useless scraps of material away from her skin.

"Tell me the truth," he whispered. "Where are the cops and what's going to happen?"

"Please stop," she said, feeling hysterical. "Let me go. I will not tell anyone –"

Her head snapped to the side again as he slapped her face with another sharp _crack_. He grabbed her chin in his hand and forced her to look back at him through tear-filled eyes.

"Who handed Leon in to the police?" Clayton asked softly. "Was it Wheeler? Or did little China Doll follow us that day and do it herself?"

"_Nyet_, I do not know anything," she insisted. "Let me go! Wheeler will be looking for me..."

Clayton laughed and slipped his hands under her t-shirt. "Oh yeah?"

She wailed as he pressed his hands over her bare breasts, digging his fingers into her flesh. Her skin crawled and she thought for a moment she was going to be sick all over herself.

"Stop, please," she begged, trying to kick him off.

"They feel kinda small," he said, sneering at her. He gripped her t-shirt in his hands and she went limp as he ripped the material from her body, tossing the scraps aside. "Guess I'll have to make do," he said, running his eyes over her skin.

She realised she was alone, then. If somebody had been coming for her, they would have found her by now – because that's the way these things were supposed to work. She should have been saved, by now. But she was naked from the waist up, and Clayton was letting his eyes and his hands wander over her skin with a leisurely delight that made her physically ill.

Losing her shirt was the point of no return. No one was coming to help her.

xXx

Wheeler hurried along, oblivious to the rain that was soaking him. He glanced left and right, his breath puffing out in front of him in small white clouds.

"Linka!" he shouted. His voiced echoed up another empty street. _Where the hell are you, babe? Where did you go and why did you go by yourself?_

The thoughts in his head sent another sick feeling of guilt to his stomach and he bit his lip. _Because you know what Gi and I have been doing..._

"Linka!" he shouted again. He started jogging again, his shoes sloshing through the water lying in the street.

The abandoned factory loomed up ahead of him, and he stopped for a moment, his breath tearing from his lungs in ragged gasps. He blinked water out of his eyes.

_If Clayton's seen her..._

He touched the gun tucked away at the small of his back and started running again.

xXx

Linka screamed.

Clayton sat back on his heels and laughed. "Bitch, who do you think can hear you?" he asked, motioning around. "It's just you and me." He bent his head to her neck. "Nice, ain't it?" he asked, stroking his tongue against her skin. "Lucky you."

"Get off me!" she cried, twisting and squirming beneath him. Her skin was scraped and raw from the rough floor, and there were red marks and scratches across her chest from Clayton's violent attention.

"You _fucker._"

Linka screamed again as Wheeler collided with Clayton, tackling him to the floor. Each of them started throwing punches wildly.

She struggling to sit up, drawing her knees up to her bare chest, sobbing desperately. Relief swam through her immediately, making her weak, but Clayton wasn't going down without a fight.

"Wheeler, stop!" she begged. "He has a knife –"

She was cut off as Clayton gave a roar of pain, his hand crushed under the weight of Wheeler's knee. Wheeler threw the knife across the room.

Clayton heaved him off, rolling him over and reaching for his gun, which was still lying on the floor by Linka. She reached out and kicked it away. He snarled at her, but froze when he felt the cold, steely barrel of Wheeler's gun against his jaw.

Wheeler pinned Clayton to the floor and reached for the gun, emptying it quickly and tossing the ammunition aside.

Linka couldn't help another sob. She tried to hold her breath and get herself under control, but she was trembling.

Clayton glared at her, and then shifted his eyes to Wheeler, smirking. "Go ahead, man," he panted. "Do it. Put your gun to some use."

"It's not loaded," Wheeler scoffed. "And you know why? Because guns cause more problems than they solve."

"Maybe in your world, with unicorns and cotton candy, and where the ghettos are full of fucking hippies," Clayton spat. "You think it's safe to walk the streets here without protection? You were too scared to come here tonight without it."

"I don't need a gun to fuck you up," Wheeler whispered, pressing his hand hard against Clayton's throat.

He choked and tried to punch Wheeler away, but the Fire Planeteer dodged the blow and pinned him securely.

"You know what the really sick thing is?" Wheeler asked. "We came here trying to help someone, and all it's done is drag us down into ruin with the rest of you."

"Take your girlfriend and get out of here before it's too late," Clayton whispered, smirking up at Wheeler.

"Maybe I _should_ kill you," Wheeler whispered, digging his fingers deeper into the flesh of Clayton's neck. "I sure as hell want to."

"Princess isn't hurt," Clayton wheezed. "She's not worth my time, anyway."

Wheeler narrowed his eyes and pressed down again. Clayton bucked silently under him, his eyes bulging.

"Wheeler, stop," Linka begged. "I want to go home. Let him go."

He did, after a few seconds. After Clayton's face had gone purple.

He gasped in a heavy lungful of air. "What are you afraid of?" he asked breathlessly. "Don't be a pussy."

Wheeler smirked. "It'll be sweet, handing you over to the cops," he said.

Clayton choked a laugh. "Sure, man. In your little world you always get the happy ending, huh? Hand me over to the cops for what? I been with Theo all night." He grinned. "Just ask him."

Wheeler slammed a punch into his face, and Linka jumped, frightened.

"Wheeler, stop it!" she shouted at him. "Let him up. He is not worth it..."

"Go home to China Doll," Clayton whispered. "I'll see you tomorrow, man."

Wheeler scoffed and shoved him away. "Yeah, whatever."

Clayton tucked his emptied gun into the waistband of his jeans and disappeared out into the rain.

Wheeler turned to Linka.

She was still hunched timidly on the floor, her knees drawn up to her chest. Her back and her arms were scraped and dirty.

He stripped his sweatshirt over his head and knelt beside her, freeing her wrists. "You okay, babe?" he asked softly.

She hurried to pull his sweatshirt over her head, unable to resist a shudder as she remembered Clayton's hands on her skin. She wiped her eyes hurriedly, smearing her tears across her cheeks.

"Take me home," she whispered.

xXx

The rain was pouring down heavily, and Wheeler and Linka were shivering under a road bridge, hoping it was going to ease up a little. He had called Kwame to let him know Linka was safe, and had asked him to call Gi and let her know they would both be back as soon as the rain eased up a little.

Wheeler glanced to Linka. She was standing away from him, near the curtain of water that was pouring off the bridge, hugging herself tightly. Now and then she would reach up to brush a new tear away.

"How did it happen, babe?" he asked. "How did Clayton find you?"

"I made a stupid mistake," she whispered, staring out into the dark street. "It was my fault."

"What happened back there wasn't your fault," he said sharply.

She bit her lip and wiped her eyes again.

"He didn't hurt you, did he?" Wheeler asked hesitantly. "I mean –"

"_Nyet_, you arrived in time," she whispered.

He put his arm around her. "We've gotta get back to the house," he said. "Gi's there alone."

Linka hung her head. The rain had sent a chill right through to her bones, and when Wheeler said Gi's voice, it all turned to ice.

He grabbed her gently, cupping her face in his hands and forcing her to look up at him.

"Linka, tell me he didn't hurt you," he said. His eyes blazed with concern.

"He did not hurt me," she whispered. _You did._

He stroked the shadows under her eyes with this thumbs and drew her close, wrapping his arms tightly around her and hugging her to him. He buried his face in her hair, his mouth by her ear.

"What would I do if I lost you, huh?" he asked, and his voice cracked.

She sobbed in response and clutched at him tightly. He was certain, then, that she knew everything. He couldn't explain how – his brain kept telling him that he and Gi were the only ones who could possibly know what had really happened. Everything else was just stories and cover-ups. Lies, to fit in with Clayton.

But his heart told him she knew.

"We've gotta go, baby," he whispered. "We've gotta get out of here and get to the others."

She nodded, but she didn't let go of him, and he made no move to separate from her. Her breath was warm and deep against the wet shoulder of his t-shirt, and now and then a sob would tear through her, ragged and hoarse.

The rain poured off the bridge. Wheeler watched it running down the gutters, sweeping up leaves and soda cans and various bits of trash. He watched an empty cola can spin and bob in the shallow current, and he closed his eyes, the movement making him dizzy. All of a sudden he felt as though the rain could wash him away – that if he stepped back into it he'd just dissolve.

"We gotta get out of here," he said again. His voice sounded tired. "Come on."

He let go of her slowly, and she stepped away, shivering as she left the warmth of his body.

"We're gonna be okay," he said. His voice lacked confidence and he was sure he had guilt and sorrow written all over him.

She gazed back at him, but her eyes were somewhat veiled and he couldn't be sure as to what, exactly, she was feeling just then.

"_Da,_" she whispered eventually. "I am done making stupid mistakes."

She bent her head and stepped out into the curtains of rain falling from the sky.

**xXx**


	9. Every Man For Himself

Linka obviously didn't want to talk about what had happened. Gi had rushed forward to ask if she was all right, but a look from Wheeler had stopped her in her tracks.

Kwame had asked what had happened, but Linka had simply shrugged and shook her head, telling him she was sorry.

Kwame had bitten his tongue. He wasn't angry at her – but they had all been worried, and it was obvious something had happened.

"Our cover has been blown," Wheeler said, shivering in the living room. His wet t-shirt clung to him. "We've gotta get out of here."

Kwame nodded. "We should hurry. Ronnie and Julie are probably with Ma-Ti."

"They are?" Gi asked in relief. "Has something happened?"

Kwame looked hopeful. "We should get over there," he said. "Are you all right, Linka?"

"I am fine," she said softly, avoiding his eyes. "We should find Ma-Ti. Clayton will probably be here soon..."

"He's coming here?" Gi asked, sounding frightened.

Linka glanced at her and then lowered her eyes. "_Da_, maybe."

"Let's get out of here," Wheeler muttered. "Maybe Ma-Ti has some good news."

xXx

Gi felt sick. She had emptied the contents of her stomach soon after Wheeler and Kwame had left, and even after finding Linka, she hadn't found herself feeling any better.

The four of them hurried through the rain silently, stopping only when Kwame fumbled for his keys to unlock the front door of the tiny house he, Linka and Ma-Ti had been sharing.

"Ma-Ti?" Kwame called, shaking water from his hair. "Are you here?"

The house was silent. Wheeler felt another unpleasant, queasy feeling in his stomach.

"Ma-Ti? Little buddy?" He walked through the house, peering into each room until he found Ma-Ti. "Shit." He threw himself to his knees at Ma-Ti's bedside. "In here!" he called back to the others.

The youngest Planeteer was ghostly pale and drenched in sweat, his chest rising and falling in shallow gasps.

"Ma-Ti?" Wheeler shook him gently. "Ma-Ti, c'mon, wake up..."

"What's happened?" Gi asked. Her voice was high-pitched and she clutched her hands to her mouth. "What's wrong with him?"

"Ma-Ti, wake up..." Wheeler whispered, stroking Ma-Ti's damp hair back from his forehead. "Come on."

"Should we take him to a hospital?" Gi asked frantically.

"What can they do?" Kwame asked nervously. "This is not exactly a medical problem..."

"_Bozhe moy_," Linka exclaimed angrily. She reached forward and gently tugged Ma-Ti's ring from his finger. "Ma-Ti?" she asked gently. "Can you hear me?"

He sighed and his eyes fluttered open briefly. "Linka?"

"_Da_. Are you all right?"

"Dizzy," Ma-Ti breathed. "Ronnie..."

"He is not here yet," Linka told him gently.

"No, I know." Ma-Ti swallowed and raised a shaking hand to his forehead. "He is in trouble."

"Fucking hell, it never ends," Wheeler muttered.

"Shut up," Linka spat at him, turning back to Ma-Ti.

Wheeler blinked and took a step back. Gi glanced at him nervously and Kwame's eyes widened in surprise.

"Where is he, Ma-Ti?" Linka whispered, stroking his hair.

"I think he is with Main Dog," Ma-Ti answered. He struggled to sit up, and after a moment trying to decide whether to help him or force him to lie down again, Linka put her arm around his shoulders and supported him as he sat on the edge of the bed. He breathed deeply.

"I cannot wear my ring," he said. He sounded quite tearful.

"It's okay, Ma-Ti," Gi answered gently. "We understand. And it won't work around here anyway. It's just making you susceptible to everything..."

Ma-Ti nodded. "We have to find Ronnie," he said. "Main Dog found out he was coming here with Julie... We are so close to Clayton's territory, he thinks Ronnie is betraying him..."

"We will find him," Linka soothed. "And we will end this mission."

Ma-Ti gave her a shaky smile. "I hope so."

xXx

Linka was a few paces ahead of the others. She had heard Kwame muttering about how fast she was walking, and how she was probably racing them all into a death-trap, but she had ignored him. She was feeling reckless and angry. She kept her jaw clenched and her head high. Her wet hair bounced with each step, splitting into tiny, spirally curls, brushing the back of her neck as her ponytail swung back and forth.

"We're just gonna walk in without a plan?" Wheeler asked, sounding nervous as the school came into view.

It was dark, but this is where Ma-Ti had focused Ronnie's energy to. This is where Ronnie was supposed to be. With Main Dog.

"Plans do not always work out anyway," Linka answered icily.

Gi bit her lip and looked at Wheeler, feeling frightened and guilty.

Kwame grabbed Linka gently from behind and held her still. "We need some sort of plan," he said. "We cannot just rush in to a gang unarmed."

"Wheeler has a gun," Gi pointed out.

"I'm not gonna use it," he answered immediately.

"They don't have to know that."

Ma-Ti winced and shook his head. "Ronnie is here somewhere, I think. And Julie. If Main Dog and his gang are the only others, the good hearts outweigh the bad ones."

"We should hurry," Linka said, tugging out of Kwame's grasp. "If Main Dog thinks Ronnie and Julie have been hiding secrets from them..." She trailed off and started walking again.

"This way," Ma-Ti said, tugging on the back of the sweatshirt she was still wearing. "I think they are towards the basketball courts."

"You sure?" Wheeler asked. "You don't have your ring on anymore."

"I don't suppose I need it," Ma-Ti sighed in response. He glanced towards Wheeler and Gi and they both looked away hurriedly.

"There," Linka said, pointing. Under the streetlight at the end of the basketball court, Main Dog and the rest of The Wrecking Crew could be seen milling around, laughing and shoving one another. They stopped when they saw the Planeteers approaching them.

"Clayton's new recruit," Main Dog drawled, running his eyes over Wheeler. "You got a lot of nerve, showin' your face here, man."

"We did not come to fight," Linka snapped. Her voice was cold and it sent a shiver up Wheeler's spine.

Main Dog looked at her in surprise.

"Where are Ronnie and Julie?" Linka asked.

"I'm here," Julie said softly. She stepped out from behind one of Main Dog's friends, her face pale and tear-streaked. "I came to find Ronnie."

"You got _no_ right to be lookin' for my brother," Main Dog snapped. "You're lucky you're still in one piece, little girl."

Ma-Ti clutched his stomach and Kwame put a steadying hand on his shoulder.

"I don't know where he is!" Julie protested softly. She turned to the Planeteers helplessly. "He's missing. I think Clayton has done something..."

"We'll soon fix this," Main Dog snorted, drawing out his gun. He raised it towards Wheeler's chest. "Where is he?"

"I don't know!" Wheeler answered hastily. "I don't have anything to do with it!"

Main Dog chuckled and shook his head. "You come into the school and make it with Clayton and all of a sudden I've lost my best friend," he said in a soft voice. "Don't you lie to me, man. I'm gonna give you five seconds to tell me where my little brother is..."

"He didn't do it!" Julie said frantically. "He's not really in Clayton's gang, he's just –"

"Get her out of here!" Main Dog said hotly. "Now!"

"Stop," Linka said suddenly. She was still in front of the other Planeteers, having led the way, and she stepped daringly between Wheeler and the gun.

"Linka, don't," Wheeler whispered, reaching to pull her back.

She shook her head and looked at Main Dog. "I know it hurts," she said, and her voice cracked. "Losing someone."

Ma-Ti leaned against Kwame and looked towards Gi helplessly. She was gazing at Linka with guilt and fear and grief on her face.

"I am sorry you had to lose Eli," Linka said desperately. "Please do not take someone else away. It will not bring your friend back."

Main Dog stared back at her.

"Jacinta told me you want something better for Ronnie," Linka continued. "You do not want him in a gang..."

Main Dog swallowed and shook his head.

"Do you think he would want his big brother in jail?" Linka asked softly.

Main Dog shoved his gun towards them again, glaring past her at Wheeler. "Where's Ronnie?" he snarled.

"He doesn't know!" Julie snapped. "It was Clayton!"

"What was me?"

The Planeteers all took a collective step back when Clayton and The Evil Educators strolled out of the darkness and gathered at the edge of the pool of light spilling from the streetlamp. He grinned at Linka and she clenched her fists at her sides.

"Outnumbered," Clayton declared, gazing confidently at The Wrecking Crew. "Now, did you find out all you wanted?" He tilted his head towards Wheeler but kept his eyes on Main Dog.

"Clayton, Ronnie's gone missing," Julie interrupted in a small voice. "What have you done?"

"Get over here, girl, and hurry up," he snapped impatiently.

"She stays with us until you hand my little brother back," Main Dog answered, holding his arm out and blocking Julie from going anywhere.

"I ain't done nothin' with that _sped_," Clayton snorted. "Get your hands off my sister, man. Or I'll make sure you can see your friend Eli nice and close." He lifted his t-shirt to show his gun.

"He was going to turn in whoever shot Mr. King," Julie said, her voice clear and soft against the muttering gang members. The Planeteers watched on nervously.

"Well it wasn't me, so I got nothin' to worry about," Clayton snapped. "Get the fuck over here. Now."

"It was Theo," Julie said, glancing nervously towards Clayton's friends. "Ronnie saw him."

All eyes shifted to Theo, and there were long seconds of silence.

"It's a lie!" Theo snapped, glaring around at everyone. "I didn't shoot nobody."

"You knew he saw you and you've done something with him!" Julie said, her voice growing high-pitched and hysterical. "What have you done, Theo?"

Clayton continued to stare at Theo. He looked angry, though it seemed more about Theo being caught than who the victim had been. "It was you? You shot Mr. King?"

Theo pursed his lips together in a thin line and shook his head. "Ronnie's a fuckin' liar."

"Clayton, please," Julie said, her voice trembling. "Ronnie hasn't done anything wrong. Let him go..."

"I ain't got him, Julie," Clayton snapped.

"You'd better not!" Main Dog answered.

"Man, what are you gonna do?" Clayton scoffed. "Your best friend gets taken out in math class and you do nothin'. You're a –"

"Stop!" Kwame cried as Main Dog swung his gun around again. "_All_ of you will end up dead if you keep up this fighting!"

"Shut up, do-gooder," Clayton said. "I should waste each and every one of you. Starting with you," he said, narrowing his eyes at Wheeler.

"Stop it!" Julie shrieked. "Clayton, I meant it! All they've done is try to help –"

"You were in on this?" he asked incredulously. "Bitch, you'd better be joking..."

"If you don't let Ronnie go, _I'm_ going to the police!" she cried. "I'll tell them everything, about every single one of you!"

Ma-Ti felt a surge of power and hope, and he relaxed a little – though it was too soon. He felt another sharp, hot pain in his chest, and saw flashes of what was coming, seconds before it actually happened. He sank to his knees helplessly and Kwame reached for him as Theo pulled his gun out from under his sweatshirt and pointed it at Julie, standing just feet away.

Main Dog saw it too. He shoved Julie backwards just as the gun fired, a brief burst of light flashing across the pale faces standing around under the basketball hoop.

"Julie!" Clayton cried in horror. He clutched his hands to his head, apparently too shocked to move and figure out who had been hurt. Theo took off, his footsteps fading into the darkness. After a moment, Zap and Diesel followed him, deciding that sticking around would only lead to more trouble.

Clayton watched on in a daze as Julie detangled herself from beneath Main Dog.

"Are you hurt?" Wheeler asked, pulling her up.

She shook her head, shivering. "I think he got shot," she whispered. "I think he's dead."

"I ain't dead," Main Dog groaned, looking at her in disgust.

"But you are hurt!" Linka said immediately, dropping to her knees. "Here." She shoved him back none-too-gently and pressed her hands over his shoulder. He yelped and squirmed and she glared down at him.

"See what happens?" Ma-Ti asked, fighting back a new wave of nausea. "Perhaps, Clayton, you could call a truce with Main Dog now?"

"No way, man," Clayton snapped. "This guy can't be trusted."

"You trusted Theo," Wheeler pointed out. "And he just tried to shoot your little sister. Main Dog took the bullet instead."

Clayton's gaze faltered for a moment and he looked down at Main Dog, still on the ground, his jaw clenched as Linka pressed the heels of her hands over the wound in his shoulder.

"All of you have a chance to start over," Kwame urged. "You are all young. You have the opportunity of education at your fingertips."

Wheeler nodded, his heart racing. "Tell us where Ronnie is and all of this can end. Aren't you all sick of this? Your biggest worries should be algebra exams and high school dances – not gun wars."

Clayton looked down at the gun in his hand and shook his head slowly. "I put this down and I get a bullet in my back when I walk away," he said in disgust. "The world don't work like you think it does."

"Give me back my little brother," Main Dog said through clenched teeth. "Only fair, seeing as I just saved your sister's life."

"Theo missed, that's all," Clayton snapped. "He can't aim straight."

"He shot David!" Gi shrieked, her patience finally snapping. "You can all kill each other for all I care! I'm _done_ trying to help you! You don't listen to reason!"

Wheeler grabbed her arm. "Gi, stop it," he hissed.

"I'm out," Clayton muttered, backing away. "Julie, let's go."

"Not until I know where Ronnie is," she said.

Clayton shook his head. "Don't know. Theo's doing, not mine."

"You really think you can trust those guys more than you can trust Main Dog?" Wheeler asked furiously. "For what reasons, exactly?"

Ma-Ti watched on, his jaw clenched in an effort to stop his body shaking. He suddenly had more faith in Main Dog – his surprise act of protecting Julie had cemented Ma-Ti's thoughts of his heart being good within the basic depths. Main Dog's urge to protect his little brother had also kept Ma-Ti slightly hopeful of reconciliation.

But Clayton didn't inspire the same hope within him. Clayton's presence still made him ill, and frightened. Even now, as the gang leader looked afraid and defeated, Ma-Ti could sense an overwhelming hatred and prejudice.

_He's not going to back down_, he thought sadly. _He's not going to give in. Main Dog will, but Clayton won't, and I don't think we can end this unless he agrees to change his ways._

"You've lost your gang," Wheeler said suddenly. "Theo's goin' to jail. You think they'll go easy on him after what Leon did last week? They're gonna lock him away for fear of him killing someone as well. For shooting Mr. King, _and_ for shooting Main Dog."

Clayton scowled at him, but for once, kept his mouth shut.

"Bitch that hurts!" Main Dog snapped, squirming under Linka's palms.

"Stay still then!" she snapped back at him, pressing her knee into his chest to hold him still.

"Someone should call an ambulance," Kwame said softly.

"And the police," Julie said, folding her arms across her chest. "To find Ronnie."

Clayton sighed in disgust. "Check the old storage units down by Theo's neighbourhood. The ones with the locked gates. Pretty sure he knows a way in. He'll have Ronnie there somewhere." He lifted his chin and glared down at Main Dog. "We're even now," he declared coolly. He shifted his gaze to Julie. "You go after him, you better not come home. You hear?"

"Sounds good to me," Julie answered shakily. She turned to the Planeteers. "Can we go and find him?" she asked desperately. "I'm worried."

Kwame nodded. "We will get the police."

Clayton gripped his gun. "I'm outta here." He smirked at the Planeteers. "Later, do-gooders."

"You're just gonna walk off?" Wheeler asked in disgust. "You're not even gonna _try_ to make things better for everyone?"

"Why bother?" Clayton asked, turning his back and strolling away. "Every man for himself."

xXx

The hospital seemed too bright and clean, after what had happened on the basketball courts. The Planeteers stood around in a daze, watching doctors and nurses hurry past as Main Dog's wound was patched up. Ronnie, who had been found slumped on the floor of a dilapidated storage shed, was pale and shaky in a hospital bed down the corridor, being treated for concussion with Julie at his side.

The police came and broke the Planeteers away from the group one by one, asking quiet questions and jotting seriously in their notepads, frowns on their faces.

Gi was almost swaying with exhaustion. She kept looking towards Linka, but the blonde was keeping her head down, her gaze fixed firmly upon the clean floor.

"Gi, you made it..."

She looked up in surprise.

Brian smiled at her. "I didn't think you'd received my messages," he said. "Visiting hours are over, but I think I could sneak you in, if you wanted to see him for a few minutes..."

"What?" she asked, confused.

"David," he said gently. "He's awake."

"He is?" It was almost too much. She went weak at the knees for a moment, relief sweeping through her every nerve. She let Brian drape an arm across her shoulders and steer her through the corridor, florescent lights and harsh chemicals adding to her headache.

"He's weak," Brian whispered. "He might be asleep again, by now." He stood aside and waited for her to go in. For some reason, it took her a few moments to gather the courage.

She felt as though she had failed David – Clayton certainly didn't seem intent on changing his ways, and all indications there made it seem as though the gang culture would continue. But it wasn't just that – she had become somebody she no longer liked. The mission had forced itself upon her in a most unwelcome way, almost taking her by surprise with its intensity, and the pressure and guilt she had been feeling had all spiralled her emotions into a whirlwind that had ended with her naked body nestled against Wheeler's.

She was convinced, suddenly, that her actions had doomed the Planeteers to their end as a group. She wasn't sure how she could ever explain to Linka the situation she and Wheeler had become embroiled in. _We were so alone and so frightened_ hardly seemed enough. Linka was alone and frightened too, and separated from her two best friends, who had betrayed her in the worst sense.

Feeling sick, Gi clutched her stomach and entered David's room.

He looked tired, but he smiled when he saw her. "I didn't believe Brian, at first," he murmured, fixing his eyes upon her. "Look at you."

She gave him a shaky, self-conscious smile. "Hi, David."

"You've grown, since I last saw you," he said, giving her a tired smile.

She chuckled. "I should hope so." She sank into a chair by his side and took his hand. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine," he sighed. "Just weak. How are you? Brian filled me in on why you're here. You shouldn't have, Gi. It's too much to expect of you."

She shook her head. "I wanted to try. I wanted you to wake up to something better."

He smiled at her and squeezed her fingers gently. "And have I?"

"No," she whispered. "I think it's worse. Clayton won't listen. I thought we were getting somewhere with Main Dog, but now I don't know." She brushed tears away on the back of her hand. "And I think I've made my own world worse," she admitted, staring down at his blankets. "I'm glad you're okay, David, but I wish I hadn't left Hope Island, this time."

"Don't give up faith, Gi," he said softly. "Things aren't always as bad as they seem."

"I think this time, they are," she said miserably.

She wanted nothing more than a hug, and someone to tell her it was going to be okay – but then she remembered what had happened last time she had craved such a thing.

She squeezed David's hand. "I'd better go. You look tired. I'll come and see you in the morning, before we leave."

"You're leaving so soon?" he asked, sounding disappointed.

She nodded. "It's best, I think. But I'll try and come back for a visit when I can." She leaned over and kissed his cheek. "See you tomorrow."

He smiled, but he looked disappointed that her visit had been so fleeting. She couldn't help it – she had to get out of there. She wanted to return to Hope Island and bury her head under the covers and forget that any of this had ever happened.

She said goodnight to Brian on her way past, not bothering to explain her hasty exit. She folded her arms across her chest and hurried up the corridor, wanting to get back to the Planeteers.

"Gi..."

She stopped and doubled back a few paces. Main Dog, apparently all right, was sitting by Ronnie's bedside with his shoulder in a sling. Julie was sitting on the end of the bed, holding Ronnie's hand as he slept. She smiled at the Water Planeteer when she entered.

"Hey," she said softly. "You okay?"

Gi nodded, and glanced at Main Dog. "No surgery?"

"Bullet went right through," Main Dog explained tiredly. "They just patched me up. Nothing serious."

Gi nodded. "Well I'm sure you'll be back to your gun wars in no time."

Julie winced and shook her head. "He's promised to stop," she said, checking to see if Ronnie was still peacefully asleep. "We're all gonna leave."

"You are?" Gi asked curiously. "Where are you going to go?"

Main Dog shook his head slowly. "Don't know," he said. "But I don't want Ronnie to get shot, and that's what will happen if we hang around here."

"What about Clayton?" Gi asked.

Main Dog scoffed. "He won't change. But he'll have no one left to fight if I go. The Wrecking Crew are done. I figure if Clayton's Educators can splinter like that, my gang can as well. Hell, I'm not sure who I can trust there, anyway."

"So you're leaving?" Gi asked breathlessly. "It's over?"

Julie nodded and smiled. "Yeah. As over as it can be, I guess. With no one willing to fight him, maybe Clayton will start to leave everyone alone. Theo's certainly not going to be around to help him anymore, and I doubt Diesel and Zap can be trusted. I think he's afraid to let it go. Maybe he just needs a bit of time to realise things can be okay now."

Gi shook her head. "I don't know. I never liked him – I had a different feeling about you, Main Dog. You seemed genuinely protective of Ronnie, but Clayton only ever seemed aggressive towards everyone. Including Julie."

"I'm going with them now, anyway," Julie said, her head bowed. "Clayton doesn't want me to go home, and I don't want to go home to him anyway. Where Ronnie goes, I go."

"Apparently I got no say in the matter," Main Dog muttered, shifting uncomfortably in his chair.

Gi breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, I'm glad the three of you are getting away from all this. I think you all deserve better." She jammed her hands in her pockets, still feeling a little lost. "Good luck."

Julie smiled. "Thank you, Gi," she whispered. "For everything."

Gi wandered back into the corridor, her mind a fog of confusion. She wasn't sure if the mission had been successful or not. She supposed only time would tell – who knows how Clayton might turn out if there was no one around to make him feel threatened. So long as nobody else got hurt, she supposed the mission could be deemed a success.

_So many got hurt in the process, though,_ she thought, and she leaned against the wall, suddenly too upset to seek out the other Planeteers.

xXx

Ma-Ti was asleep, leaning against the warm, humming coffee machine. Wheeler didn't know how he could stand it, but the youngest Planeteer was exhausted, and didn't wake even as a weary doctor dropped coins into the machine and watched his plastic cup fill with black coffee.

Kwame had disappeared with his cell phone. Wheeler wasn't sure, but he had a feeling the Planeteers would be heading back for Hope Island very soon. Things seemed to have come to a tumultuous halt, and Kwame had, apparently, decided that enough was enough. Wheeler suspected he'd disappeared to make an apologetic farewell to Jacinta.

Linka was steadfastly ignoring everybody. He wasn't sure if she was furious or miserable. Perhaps it was a combination of both. She hadn't shifted her gaze from the floor since sinking into a plastic bucket seat a few feet away. He hadn't seen her move, and she hadn't responded to his whispered question about needing a coffee.

Wheeler got up and paced over to her, still unable to shake that sick, hot feeling of guilt in his stomach.

He sat next to her quietly, trying to gather his thoughts and tell her that everything would be okay.

She didn't give him a chance. She stood up immediately after he'd collapsed next to her, and walked away down the corridor, her feet quick and quiet on the linoleum and her head bowed.

He watched her go with a sinking feeling. _I've ruined it,_ he thought._ I don't think I can fix this._

xXx


	10. We've Got To Fix This

David was sitting up in bed when Gi returned to the hospital the next morning, though he still looked weak.

He smiled at her. "Hello."

"Hi." She smiled back and sat on the end of his bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired," he admitted. "But it could be worse."

"I'm glad you're awake," Gi agreed. "When can you go home?"

"I'm not sure. Not for a few days." He looked at her carefully. "You're going back to Hope Island today?"

She nodded. "Yeah. I know we haven't really had a chance to talk, but we need to go back today."

He nodded, still watching her carefully. She looked away and focused on the toes of her shoes, hanging just above the floor.

"How are your parents?" he asked after a moment.

"Good. Busy."

"Still in Busan?"

She nodded. "They were in Australia last year. But Busan is always home."

She wished she could chatter. She wished she could be vibrant and happy. She had been at his side for long, lonely hours over the past week, wishing he would wake up. Wishing they could talk. She had wanted to hear his voice and watch the way expressions fell upon his face. Her memories of him were eleven years old now, and she was certain he had changed – and that her perceptions of him would be different. But all she could think about now was getting away and getting back to Hope Island. And what would happen when the geo-cruiser touched down and the Planeteers had to deal with what had changed between them.

"Ronnie came to see me this morning," David said, clearing his throat slightly. "He and Raymond are leaving town?"

Gi nodded tiredly. "And Julie too, I think."

"I offered to put the boys in touch with someone I know upstate," David said. "I'm hoping they can make their way as mechanic apprentices."

Gi smiled. "I'm sure that would give Main Dog a great chance at redeeming himself. I just wish Clayton would change his ways, too."

"Don't blame yourself for that," David said gently. "Maybe if he hears Main Dog is doing well, he'll think twice about the road he's heading down now. Maybe Julie's absence will provoke him into better actions to bring her home again."

"I hope so," Gi said, though she sounded doubtful. "I'm not sure he really cares."

"Deep down, he does," David said firmly.

Gi remembered the look on Clayton's face after Theo's gun had gone off, and how he had panicked during those brief seconds where it had seemed Julie had been hurt.

"I guess," she said softly.

David reached for her hand and she slipped her fingers between his palms. "Did something happen, Gi?" he asked.

She bit her lip and looked down at the toes of her shoes again. "Yes," she admitted. "But – but it was me. It wasn't anything to do with the kids, really. Just..." She looked down at her ring. She had grown used to the numbing ache that travelled up her arm and settled across her shoulders and her brow. Her ring had merely acted as a gateway, somehow rendering her more sensitive to the hatred and fear and prejudice in the air around her during the past week. She wondered just how different things would have turned out had she taken it off during that first afternoon.

"I made some bad choices," she said softly. "Choices I didn't really think through. I was selfish and I've hurt two people I really care about – and I think it's going to hurt other people, too. I think I've done something that could tear the Planeteers apart."

She bit her lip and looked at him. "I'm glad you're okay," she whispered. "And I'm glad some of these kids are going to change their lives and become better people. But I wish I hadn't come here. I've become a terrible person and I don't know how I'm going to make things better."

"Gi, you're not a terrible person," he protested gently.

"Oh, I am," she answered, nodding her head. "I really am. I lost track of myself."

"That doesn't make you terrible," he said. "Sometimes, in an atmosphere like this, you can only revert to a survival mode of sorts. If you did something that helped you survive –"

"Don't," she said, giving him a small smile. "I can't explain this one away."

He sighed and squeezed her hand. "I hope you're wrong, then," he said softly. "I hope the Planeteers stick together, no matter what."

"I hope so too," she whispered. "But I don't think it's up to me to decide."

xXx

Kwame kept a gentle grip on the controls of the geo-cruiser, despite the auto-pilot light blinking steadily in front of him. They had long since left the heavy atmosphere they had been surrounded by during the past week, but his headache hadn't eased. He wasn't entirely sure of what had happened, but it was painfully obvious that something was wrong between Wheeler, Linka and Gi. He wondered if it had just been the fact that they had been under so much stress and they had been split up – but his gut feeling told him it was something deeper than that.

The trip back to Hope Island was silent. Ma-Ti slept for most of the way, and Linka had her eyes closed, though Kwame suspected she was as awake and alert as he was himself. Wheeler was restless, fidgeting and toying with his iPod, his eyes glancing from the window to Linka every few seconds.

Gi sat behind Wheeler at the back, and though Kwame was unable to see if she was actually crying, he had heard her sniffle several times.

He was upset and confused – he didn't know what was wrong, and he wondered if he should talk to them about it, but again his intuition kicked in and told him that he couldn't settle this one himself. It was between the three of them, and they were the ones who would have to sort it out.

His mind sorted through possible reasons for their misery, and he picked each reason apart until he exhausted himself. He cast aside many as ridiculous – the Planeteers were a close-knit group, and they all loved one another and trusted one another. He refused to believe that something so terrible had come between them it couldn't be fixed.

He sighed quietly and gripped the controls. He could feel the wind buffeting against the geo-cruiser as it flew towards Hope Island, and suddenly he could sense a storm coming on.

_Perhaps more than one_, he thought, glancing back to Linka.

xXx

Linka closed the door to her cabin softly and sank onto her bed. She desperately wanted to cry, but for some reason she was unable to. She supposed she was simply too overwhelmed.

She had leapt from the geo-cruiser the instant Kwame had landed, striding quickly towards her cabin without a backwards glance. She had spent the trip home pretending to sleep, though she had been acutely aware of Wheeler fidgeting in the seat opposite her, and she had heard Gi sniff once or twice, indicating tears.

She didn't care. Gi _deserved _to feel miserable. And so did Wheeler, for that matter.

She pulled the elastic from her hair and let it fall loose around her shoulders before she headed for the bathroom, desperate for a long, hot shower. Stripping her shirt over her head, she winced when she saw the marks and scratches Clayton had left on her skin. She turned her back on the mirror and turned the water on all the way, stepping under the spray and letting the stinging needles of water crash against her back.

xXx

Wheeler closed the door to the geo-cruiser. "Need any help?" he asked Kwame, nodding to the bags at his feet.

Kwame shook his head and looked pointedly towards Gi, who had wandered up the beach and was now sitting in the sand, facing into the strong wind blowing off the sea. "You have other things to do," he said.

Wheeler's heart sank. "Yeah, I guess."

"Sort it out," Kwame said, sounding harsher than he meant to. "Whatever it is. We have all been through enough already."

"I know," Wheeler answered, looking suitably ashamed of himself.

Kwame picked up the bags at his feet and headed towards the path that wove between the trees and the Planeteer's cabins.

Wheeler rubbed his forehead and trudged up the beach towards Gi, sinking heavily into the sand beside her.

"You okay?" he asked softly.

"Are you?" she retorted bitterly. "No, I'm not okay."

He drew his knees up and rested his arms against them. "Yeah. What do you think we should do?"

"I don't know," she answered heavily. "She seems to know about it, doesn't she?"

"Yeah," he admitted. "I don't know how. Maybe she saw us at the house and we didn't hear her come in."

Gi shrugged. "It doesn't matter. She knows. And even if she didn't..."

He just nodded in response.

"I mean," she said, her voice cracking, "The first time was bad enough. But that second time..." She brushed tears away with the back of her hand. "What the hell were we thinking?"

"We _weren't_ thinking," he pointed out miserably.

She mimicked his position, pulling her knees up and wrapping her arms around them. She looked at him. "Do you think she'll forgive us?" she asked softly.

He blanched at the possibility of Linka _not_ forgiving them. "I hope so," he whispered. "But, you know, part of me..." He shook his head. _Part of me hopes she doesn't. I don't deserve forgiveness._

"She deserves so much better than this," he said. "I don't know how we can make it up to her."

Gi wiped another tear away. "She was even more alone than we were," she said bitterly. "She's closer to us than she is to Kwame or Ma-Ti, and we weren't there to help her through any of the past week." She rested her cheek against her knee, still watching him. "Is she okay, after running into Clayton?"

Wheeler just nodded. He didn't want to talk about that. Somehow he knew it was his fault Linka had ended up in that factory in the first place. It was too horrifying to think about what could have happened had he not found her when he did.

"What should we do?" Gi asked helplessly. "Should we go and see her?"

"Not together," he said, knowing in his gut that Linka probably didn't want to see either of them, let alone have them both hunt her out.

"You should go," Gi whispered. "She loves you."

He felt a hot, extremely unpleasant pain in his chest at those words. He had dared to hope, a few times, that Linka cared about him, but he had never gone so far as to hope she loved him. He hadn't even been sure, until recently, that he loved _her_. Love seemed a strong word to Wheeler, and a frightening one, but over the past 24 hours he had realised that what he felt for Linka _was_ love. It wasn't just a silly crush or an exercise of useless flirtation. It was deep, heart-wrenching love, and that made everything he'd done over the past week so much worse.

"I can't say anything to make it better," he said, voicing the awful realisation for the first time.

"Saying nothing won't help, either," Gi reasoned desperately. "We were alone, and frightened, and we needed comfort. And –"

"So did she!" he exploded. "She felt just as sick and alone as we did, and she didn't crawl into Kwame's bed, did she?"

Gi burst into loud sobs and he felt a new wave of guilt. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and held her against him.

He could see storm clouds on the horizon. The air was hot and humid, but the wind blowing in off the ocean was cold, causing an unpleasant mixture of atmosphere and temperature that confused him and added to his nausea.

"I'm gonna go and talk to her," he said eventually.

Gi nodded quietly.

"What's going to happen if she doesn't forgive us?" he asked.

"I guess we're all going out separate ways," Gi said softly. "I guess if one of us leaves, the others do, too."

He ran his hands through his hair and looked out towards the storm that was rolling in. "I can't believe we did this," he whispered.

She just shook her head. "It's done. We've got to live with it." She pushed her toes into the sand. "Maybe we should speak to Gaia."

"Pretty sure she'd tell us to sort it out ourselves," Wheeler muttered. "Kwame did."

Gi's heart sank. "Yeah." She looked at him worriedly. "If Linka made you choose," she said softly, "Would you never speak to me again? If that's what it took?"

"She wouldn't make us do something like that," he said. "But no, I wouldn't agree to that." He pulled her close and pressed a kiss against her temple. "I love you to bits, Gi. But it's not –"

"I know," she interrupted, giving him a shaky smile. "Me too."

He nodded.

"Go and find Linka," she whispered. "We've got to fix this."

xXx

Wheeler knocked softly on the door to Linka's hut, but there was no answer from within. He glanced to the sky. Thunder was rumbling in the distance and already he could hear heavy raindrops starting to fall around him. He knocked again, but Linka's hut was silent.

"Linka?" He cracked the door open, worried that maybe her room would be empty and Kwame would come to find him and tell him she'd left.

She was there, sitting on her bed with freshly-washed hair, staring at nothing in particular – just lost in thought. He opened the door wider, concerned when he saw tears on her cheeks.

"_Bozhe moy,_ Wheeler," she said, noticing him and hurriedly wiping the tears away. "Do you ever knock?"

"I did," he said, closing the door softly behind him. "You didn't answer me."

She sat up a little, straightening pillows and rearranging the books she had been trying to decide upon reading. "What do you want?"

He sat on the end of her bed, scooting back to lean his shoulders against the wall. "Am I the reason you're crying?" he asked softly.

She shot him a dark look. "Do you honestly think my mind is on you every moment of the day?" she asked icily. "For your information, there are other things I think about and get upset about."

"Only asking," he shot back, angry that she was immediately defensive.

She looked at him in surprise and then sobbed, burying her face in her hands.

"Linka," he groaned, twisting around and stretching out along the bed. He gathered her into his arms and kissed her face.

"_Nyet,_ stop," she whispered.

He ignored her, holding her firmly, and eventually she wriggled against him, sobbing into his chest.

"Talk to me?" he asked softly, laying his head alongside hers on her pillow.

"Why should I?" she asked, rubbing her face. She avoided his eyes.

"Because I'm _sorry_," he whispered, nuzzling her cheek with his nose. "I'm so sorry, babe. I'm so sorry."

"_Nyet_," she whimpered. "Sorry does not mean anything."

He stroked her hair out of her eyes. "I know..." He kissed her brow, and the lids of her eyes, tasting her tears on his lips. "I want to say it anyway. I'm sorry. I'm sorry you're hurting and I'm sorry I'm the cause of it."

She tried to push him away. "It is not just you," she sobbed. "You and Gi... you are supposed to be my _friends._"

"I know," he moaned. "I know..." He kissed her cheeks and brushed his lips over hers, listening to her sobs quieten and her breathing level out slowly. He kissed her again, gently, and felt her fingers tug at his t-shirt, holding him against her.

Hope flared inside him. He slipped his knee between her thighs, resting his weight on her, pulling her to him and kissing her firmly.

"It'll be okay," he promised. "We'll be all right." He kissed her again, aching to take away the hurt and confusion he had caused.

"_Nyet_," she whispered, pushing him away suddenly. "Stop."

He bit his lip and looked down at her. "Linka..."

"I cannot do this," she said, avoiding his eyes. She focused on the Planeteer emblem on his shirt. "Not after what has happened. I – I do not think I can be a Planeteer anymore."

His heart stopped and his breath suddenly felt like ice, freezing in his chest and not bringing enough oxygen for him to function properly. "What?" he asked. His voice was a soft gasp.

"I am sorry, Wheeler." She rolled away from him and got to her feet. Tears still ran down her face but she made no effort to stop them – and no effort to look back at him. Lightning lit up the sky and for a moment, her silhouette was lined with silver against the window.

"Linka, no," he pleaded. "It's okay. It'll be okay. Don't cut me out. Please..."

She shook her head in response. "You should go," she mumbled.

He leapt to his feet and blocked the door, scared she'd leave if he refused to. "Not until I know you're okay," he said desperately.

She shook her head. "I am – it is finished," she whispered. "I am going to pack my things –"

"No!" he cried, terror seizing him. Thunder crashed and the rain began to fall in earnest. He grabbed her tightly, his hands gripping her upper arms, and he pulled her down so she was sitting back on the end of her bed and he was kneeling in front of her.

"Wheeler –"

"I'm _not_ going to let you go." His gaze burned fiercely up into hers. "Look, it was my fault, okay? All of it was my fault. It started because Gi was upset, and of course we shouldn't have done it... I should have just put her back to bed and never started anything..." He trailed off and Linka sobbed, but he didn't let go of her arms, and he didn't pull her closer to comfort her. His mind ran wild, trying to rationalise his thoughts, and justify what he had done, but there were no easy answers and he knew it.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "We're both sorry. But Linka, it doesn't have to change anything. We can be okay..."

"_Nyet_," she said bitterly. "I am sorry, Wheeler, but it is too hard for me to move past this." She drew in a shaky breath. "I am going to go home."

He couldn't help it. He started to cry. "Oh, God, Linka..." He pushed his face against her neck and let out a sob. "Please don't. Please stay here with me. I'm _sorry._ Tell me what I can do to make it okay... I'll do anything."

"Let me go," she said softly.

He gave a bitter laugh into her neck, and pushed her backwards, tangling against her on the bed. He hugged her tightly to him, crushing the breath out of her. "Except that," he whispered. "Anything but that."

She tipped her head back and looked at him, and he gazed at her miserably. Her eyes softened when she saw him staring down at her. She had seen him cry once or twice before, but never so openly. He had always been angry at himself for showing emotion – trying to turn away and hide. He hated showing vulnerability. He would often shrug off any offers of help or sympathetic gestures towards him.

She touched one of the tears on his cheek and he bent his head and rested his forehead against hers, still clinging tightly to her.

"You deserve better than me," he whispered. "I know you do. You deserve a guy who can buy you pretty things and take you to nice places, and talk to you about all those books you read. Some smart guy who knows how to hold clever conversations with you..."

His grip on her slackened slightly, and he cupped her cheek in his palm, stroking her skin lightly. "I'm never gonna be that guy," he whispered. "I'm never gonna have any money to buy you things, or take you places. I'm never gonna be clever." He gave her a wry grin. "I hated school the second time as much as I did the first."

"I hated it this time, as well," she mumbled.

He lifted his head slightly to kiss her brow. He felt her relax a little and his heart eased. He shifted her in his arms, winding them around her and nestling closer to her so their bodies were stretched side-by-side on the mattress, their heads sharing her pillow. Outside, the rain poured down, and thunder rolled again.

She looked down at her hands, which were curled loosely against his body. She smoothed out a wrinkle in his t-shirt. The irrational panic she'd been feeling earlier, and the desire to run and escape, had faded somewhat – though she still wanted to go home. She still hurt. She didn't think things were going to be okay, this time.

"I never thought you would hurt me this way," she whispered, not caring if it caused him more guilt or pain to hear it. Part of her wanted to drive the guilt deeper into him. To hurt him back.

She was breathless when she spoke again. "Or – or that Gi would hurt me this way." Tears spilled down her cheeks again.

Wheeler groaned miserably, but she spoke again before he could.

"I used to talk to her about you," Linka sobbed. "I never told you how I really felt, Wheeler, and I am sorry... I suppose I should understand. It was not fair of me to keep you waiting for so long..."

"It's not your fault," he whispered.

"I did not tell you about my feelings," she said. "I used to push you away when I really did not want to... Gi would tell me to lower my guard a little, but I was so afraid... I could not help but think things between us would go wrong, and we would fight..."

She paused for a moment, tracing the seam on his shirt with her fingertips. "I always thought Gi wanted you and I to be together," she whispered.

"She does," Wheeler answered. "As shallow and detached as it sounds, what happened with me and Gi... It didn't mean anything, babe."

"It did to me."

He closed his eyes. "I'm sorry," he said again. "I'll do whatever it takes to make it all okay again."

She flattened her palms against his chest and eased herself away from him, her eyes lowered. "Please just let me be alone," she whispered.

"Just a little longer," he pleaded softly. "I don't want to leave you yet. Just let me stay with you a little bit longer..." He held her close and kissed her softly, brushing her nose gently with his own. "I don't want you to leave..."

She just shook her head and went limp again, and he hugged her close to him, tangling his fingers into her hair so she couldn't move away again.

Each of them breathed slowly. Outside, lightning flashed and thunder rolled through the night sky. Rain fell against palm leaves and on the roof of the hut, soothing them both into a dreamy state so close to sleep it was hard to know if they were awake or not.

"Wheeler," Linka whispered.

"Mm? Yeah?" He roused himself, opening his eyes again to look at her, but she had her face hidden against him and he couldn't read her expression.

"I do not want a man to buy me things and take me places," she mumbled. "I want a man who cares about me and is honest with me..."

He lifted her chin gently and stroked his fingers over her face when she looked up at him. "Ask me," he said softly. "Ask me anything. Give me a chance to be honest with you now..."

She looked back at him. She was exhausted. She wanted to cry and sleep. She wanted to bury herself under blankets and hide in the dark. She wanted to leave the warmth of his body so her mind could clear itself and decide what she needed to do now. Being so close to him – breathing against him, touching his skin, feeling his lips pressing against her brow and her cheek and her mouth... It was so tempting to give in and forgive him and pretend none of the hurt had ever happened.

"Do you love me?" she asked softly. The question sounded braver than she felt. She couldn't look at him. She feared the answer; whether it be yes or no.

"Yes," he whispered.

She sighed softly, twisting his t-shirt in her fingers. "You do?"

"Yeah. And I'm not real good at explaining myself, Linka. I'm not great at – well, I'm not great at much at all, really. I fuck up a lot." He ran a trembling thumb over her lower lip. "I'm too impulsive and stupid with a lot of things, and I guess you're caught up in my latest mistake. You and Gi."

She winced when he said Gi's name.

"I can't explain how I'm feeling right now," he said, and his voice broke and his eyes filled up again. "All I know is I've hurt you more than anyone else has hurt you before... And I don't deserve to ever have you speak to me again, but the thought of you leaving me..." He shook his head and buried his face in her hair, letting his tears run freely. "It hurts just to breathe when I think about losing you. It hurts all through me and it makes me want to curl up and just... stop. I'm so sorry, babe. Please don't hate me; I'll die..."

Her head ached. She didn't know if what he had just said changed anything. She felt an awful anger towards him – something that sparked irrational thoughts inside her. Thoughts that led to dark places; thoughts that confused her.

She drew in a shaky breath. "Please go," she whispered.

She heard him make a soft noise – like the last breath he'd taken had hurt him. Like he'd stepped into a pool of icy water and it had pained him so much his breath had fled from him.

She pulled herself out of his arms. When she got to her feet she was light-headed. She looked down at him, and saw he'd buried his face in her pillow and was sobbing, his fingers clenching into her rumpled blankets and gripping onto them tightly.

She leaned against the wall and waited, listening to the storm outside. She felt numb and empty.

He staggered to his feet and reached for her, but she stepped away and shook her head.

"Stop," she whispered. "Just leave me alone. Please."

"Linka..."

She almost crumbled at the sound of his voice. It didn't sound like Wheeler at all. She knew he felt it too – the pain that sat deep inside her, burning her and hurting her since she had found out. She received no satisfaction from knowing she had just now caused the same turmoil inside of him.

"I don't deserve you; I know that," he said. It seemed an effort for him to talk. His body shook and his eyes burned with an intensity that sent fear through her. "I'm never going to forgive myself for this," he said, and tears rolled down his cheeks. He waited for a moment, but she only gazed at the floor.

She heard him leave and disappear into the rain.

xXx


	11. Say Goodbye To Me

Kwame and Ma-Ti were wisely steering clear of the others and the _problem_ between them. Even so, they felt affected by it too, and it took them a long time to fall asleep. Kwame shifted restlessly, listening to the thunder die away and the rain beat against the leaves and the thatched roof of his hut.

Ma-Ti was quiet and still, reaching out now and then to stroke Suchi's fur – the little squirrel monkey curled up by his pillow, ecstatic that the Planeteers had finally returned from their latest mission.

Linka, Wheeler and Gi didn't sleep at all.

Linka buried herself under her blankets and listened to the rain. The thunder had died down somewhat, but the rain hadn't eased at all. She'd had to stack rolled towels against her door to stop the water running in, and now and then she'd lift the blanket to check on the puddle that was spreading across her floor. Mostly, though, she stayed hidden, letting her breath stifle her beneath the blanket. It was calm and quiet, hidden in her bed, and she let herself sink into a state of blissful numbness. Her mind protected her by staying utterly blank. She listened to the rain pouring outside, and she cried without really thinking about it.

Wheeler was stretched out on his mattress, exhausted. He'd never cried so much before and he felt totally drained. He watched his ceiling fan rotate slowly, shifting the humid air, and tried to plan what he was going to say to Linka in the morning. He never got far. After a few words his mind seemed to shut down again and simply run through everything she had said to him. It was over. She didn't love him and he had hurt her too badly and it was over.

He wondered if he should start packing his things. If Linka left, that was the end of the Planeteers. And things were probably beyond repair anyway, even if she did stay.

Gi hadn't even bothered going to bed. She was in the common room, staring blankly at the television and hugging one of the couch cushions to her chest. She felt ill. She had no idea if Wheeler and Linka had managed to repair things or not. She didn't think Linka was going to forgive them easily, though.

Finally, in the dark and small hours of the morning, she tossed the cushion aside and flicked the television off, heading towards Linka's hut. The rain still beat steadily down, but she barely noticed it.

Linka's light was on, and Gi knocked softly.

Linka sat up, not sure if she had imagined the noise or not. "Who is it?" she asked.

"It's Gi..."

"Go away." Linka turned her back on the door and huddled under her blankets again.

"Please, Linka. Just for a moment. Neither of us is going to get any sleep..."

"Go away!" Linka shouted. "I do not want to speak to you. Leave me alone."

Gi leaned her forehead against Linka's door. Rain ran inside her collar and down her back, making her shiver. "I just wanted to say sorry," she murmured. "I know it doesn't seem like much –"

"Gi, I mean it," Linka answered coldly. "I do not want to speak to you ever again. I am leaving when the sun is up, and as far as I am concerned it is _all_ your fault."

Gi sobbed and buried her face in her hands. "I know," she wailed. "It is, and I'm sorry! I know how you feel about him..."

The door swung open and Gi leapt back, the sudden movement startling her. Linka stood there, amongst a pile of wet towels, her hair tangled and wild and her face pale and tear-streaked.

"Go away," Linka ordered. "Or I will _make_ you go away." She glared at Gi fiercely, and she nodded.

"Okay," she whispered. "Okay, I'll go... But I just wanted to say that I'm sorry." Her voice cracked and tears ran freely down her face.

Linka seemed to crumple, her anger giving way to heartache. "Why did you do it?" she wailed. "You were the only one I ever told my true feelings to. You _know_ how I feel about him, Gi. And it took me so long to admit it..." She sank to the floor and buried her face in her hands.

Gi knelt beside her tentatively. "I know," she whispered. "I'm so sorry, Linka." She put her arms around her friend and rocked her slowly. Linka sobbed into Gi's shoulder, not sure what she was feeling anymore.

"Why didn't you tell me you loved him?" she asked, her body limp and exhausted.

Gi stroked her hair, crying silently. "Because I don't," she answered, not sure if the truth would make things better or worse. "It wasn't like that, Linka. I know it sounds stupid, but all I wanted was comfort and closeness. I'm not in love with him."

"Did you not think of me at all?" Linka asked miserably. "Did you think I would not find out?"

"I don't know," Gi answered. "I guess I wasn't thinking straight. I tried to rationalise it and I couldn't... I knew you'd be hurt and I did it anyway." Tears rolled down her cheeks. "I'm sorry. I never wanted to hurt you."

"But you knew you would," Linka said, pulling away and wiping her eyes. "You knew it would hurt me and you did it anyway."

"I'm sorry," she said again. "I know how pathetic it all sounds Linka, but I'm sorry."

"Whatever, Gi," Linka said tiredly. She got slowly to her feet and wiped her eyes. "You need to leave."

Gi sobbed and buried her face in her hands. "Okay," she answered. "Okay, I'll go. But look..." She gazed up at Linka pleadingly. "Please don't leave in the morning. I'll go. I'm the one that screwed up, okay? I'll leave."

"It does not matter which one of us leaves," Linka murmured, leaning against the wall and watching the rain run down the window pane. "The Planeteers are over."

Gi began to cry again in earnest, hugging herself and rocking back and forth slowly until her breathing came under control again. "I didn't meant to ruin everything," she sniffed. "I just felt so alone and so upset, and Wheeler was there, and he was looking after me and –"

"Shut up!" Linka snapped, glaring down at her. "Shut up."

Gi struggled to her feet, still sobbing uncontrollably. "Don't blame him, please. It was all my fault, and he loves you so –"

Linka spun around rapidly and slapped Gi across the face with a sharp smack.

Gi gasped and froze, and the only sounds were the weakened sobs from her lungs, and the rain.

"I hate you," Linka said softly. "I want you to leave, and then I never want to see you or speak to you again." She paused, and when she spoke again, her voice quivered. "You can give Wheeler the same message."

xXx

Dawn could only be a few minutes away, but it was hard to tell. Wheeler couldn't see anything – the clouds were low and thick in the sky, and the rain insisted upon continuing.

Linka's lamp was on, and he knocked nervously.

"I said go away," came the weary reply.

"Linka, it's me," he said. "Can I come in?"

"I just want to be alone," Linka answered.

"I don't," he pleaded. "Please let me in. We don't have to talk or anything..."

"Go and find Gi. She has a message for you." Linka's voice had a decidedly icy tone to it, now, and his heart sank.

He opened the door. She knew he'd done it, but she didn't roll over to face him. She was on her side, curled up on the crumpled and tangled blankets covering her bed.

He glanced around her room. Wet towels lay in a large puddle on the floor, and a suitcase was open on Linka's desk, overflowing with clothing. He closed the door softly behind him and she sighed.

"I do not want to talk to you, Wheeler," she murmured. She had reached a point where her body was insisting upon sleep, and she had realised if she wanted to fly back to Russia, she'd need at least a couple of hours behind her.

"So don't talk to me," he answered. He crossed the room and sank slowly onto the side of her bed, looking down at her. "Just let me stay for a little while."

"I would really rather you just go," she whispered. "I have already slapped Gi tonight and I will do it to you too."

He rubbed a hand over his face. "You slapped her, huh?"

"_Da_, I did. Would you like one too?" she asked coldly.

"I'll just shut up," he whispered, stretching out beside her. He listened to her breathing, and the rain, and he felt the warmth of her body beside him, even though they were both trying to avoid touching one another.

He wasn't sure how long it was before she spoke. It may only have been minutes, or it could have been an hour. It was hard to tell – time was almost non-existent to him now, and the sun, if it was up, was hidden behind the rain clouds.

"You said you loved me," Linka said softly.

"I do." He turned his head on the pillow, but she still had her back to him.

"Do you love Gi as well?"

"No."

She was silent again for a long time after that. Birds began to wake, and Wheeler was sure he'd heard Kwame pass by on his way to the common room.

"I've never seen it rain so much," he said softly, watching it run steadily down the window panes.

Linka sighed softly in response, and he wondered if she was asleep.

"It will not make my flight easy," she said eventually. "The rain."

He bit his lip and just barely resisted the urge to wrap his arms around her and trap her against his body. "You're really leaving?" he asked.

"What do you expect me to do, Wheeler?" she asked tiredly. "How can you expect me to stay here after everything that has happened?"

"Can't you try?" he asked painfully. "Just for a couple of days? I know it's a lot to ask, and I know I have no right to ask you anything right now, but... Can't you just try?"

She didn't answer him, and after a few minutes he rolled over and hugged her, nestling the front of his body to the back of hers, nuzzling her neck with his nose. She stiffened, but he didn't pull away, and she didn't tell him to.

"Stay," he whispered. "Please stay. I'll do anything. Anything you want – just ask."

"It is not as simple as that, and you know it," Linka answered, but she slumped into the mattress, relaxing and letting him squirm closer to her.

"I know," he sighed. He brushed his lips across the back of her neck and took her hand, and she started to cry again.

"Did you get sick of waiting for me?" she asked miserably. "Was it my fault?"

"Of course not," he said in dismay. "Linka, come here." He slipped his arms under her and rolled her over. She didn't resist, but she couldn't look at him. She ducked her head and he pressed his lips against her forehead.

"You didn't do anything wrong," he whispered. "I love you, and that should have been enough. It's my fault – not yours."

"I never thought you would hurt me," she whimpered. "I thought I could trust you."

He stroked her hair and kissed her brow. "I'm so sorry, babe."

"Stop calling me that," she sobbed.

He tilted her face up to his and wiped her tears away gently with his thumb. "I'll do whatever it takes," he whispered. "Just tell me what I can do."

"Nothing," she said bitterly. She tried to push him away, but she was drained and weak and he clung to her tightly.

"I told Gi to leave," she said. "I told her I never wanted to see or speak to her again, and I think things are the same with you, but –"

"Listen," he said painfully, cutting her off. "Listen, Linka... Don't blame Gi. She was upset, and it was – things were awful. She wasn't herself and if that's what she needed to make her feel better..."

She shoved harder, but he clutched her in his arms tightly.

"I'm not saying what we did wasn't wrong," he whispered. "I'm not saying you should forgive us for it. But I want you to know it wasn't pre-meditated and it wasn't because we have feelings for each other or anything. It was just something that happened."

"And that is supposed to make me feel better?" Linka asked tearfully. "Sleeping with a girl does not mean anything to you?"

"Of course it does," Wheeler said in dismay. "I – look... I'm obviously doing a bad job of explaining things –"

Linka scoffed and wiped her eyes. "Then maybe you should stop. I am not sure how much more I can take."

He sighed and kissed her forehead, and her cheek, and then her mouth.

After a moment she burrowed into him, tucking her head beneath his chin and closing her eyes. She was too exhausted to push him away, or pull him closer, or dissect her thoughts. She didn't know what she wanted anymore.

Wheeler stroked her hair. He felt guilty, and heartbroken. Not just for Linka, but for Gi too. He'd never forgive himself for coming between them. He knew he didn't have the same feelings for Gi as he had for Linka – and he was certain Gi had been telling the truth when she'd admitted she only wanted to be friends with him. All the same, though, he and Gi had fucked things up, and now Linka was bearing the brunt of it all.

He felt her fists twist into his shirt again, and her breath was against the pulse in his neck. "Wheeler," she breathed, "I am going home."

He clutched her. "Don't," he pleaded. "Don't."

"_Da_, I have to."

"No you don't!" he urged. "You don't. I – I get that you don't love me, okay, and I get that you probably never will, after this..." His voice cracked and he stopped for a moment and drew a breath. "But you can't go. If – if the Planeteers end..."

"I have to go home, Wheeler," she said. "This past week... this mission... I was – I was not myself. And you were not yourself and – and Gi..." She had to concentrate hard to get past Gi's name. "There were so many bad things and we all – we were all apart and we could not deal with it." She shook her head. "I do not want that. I do not want to be dependent on other people, and I think I am beginning to become dependent on the Planeteers. On _you_."

She pressed her forehead against his throat. "I need to leave and I need to find out who I am when I am alone. We were so young when we came here, and we are still young, and I am still learning things about myself. I want to find out who _I_ am. Who I am without the Planeteers. Because one day, sooner or later, we will all have to leave Hope Island. I need to find out what will be waiting for me. I need to understand who I am without the rest of you."

There was a roaring sound in Wheeler's ears, and it hurt to breathe. He was holding her so tightly he was sure it was hurting her, but he couldn't seem to relax his grip. Terror had never been so close or so real.

"Linka, you're everything," he whispered. "You'll always be everything. You don't need us. But – but I do. I need you and I need the Planeteers. I have nothing to go back to."

Images of his father and a tiny, rundown apartment and nights on the street and more and more and more gangs that followed the lifestyle Clayton had relished – it all turned around and around in his head until he gasped and buried his face against Linka's hair.

"I can't go back there," he whispered. "I'm not gonna survive if I have to go back there."

She had a vague understanding of what he had to return to. She knew it wasn't much, but she was too tired to realise just how frightened he was of returning to it and having to call Brooklyn home again.

"I am sorry, Wheeler," she whispered. "It is goodbye."

"Goodbye?" he asked, panic churning through his bloodstream.

She nodded and tilted her head up and kissed the point of his jaw. "Goodbye."

"No, no, not goodbye," he pleaded, rolling on top of her and looking down at her. He stroked her hair out of her face. "Not goodbye."

She ran her fingers gently across his jaw. "It was always supposed to be us," she whispered sadly.

He closed his eyes and sank against her, burying his face in the warm curve of her neck. "I know."

"Kiss me?" she requested softly. "Say goodbye to me..."

"Why does it have to be goodbye?" he asked painfully.

"Why did _you_ have to ruin everything?" she asked. Her voice cracked.

He shook his head miserably. "There's no excuse for what I did," he whispered. "I'm sorry."

"Please just kiss me now," she whispered. "Take it away. I want to forget everything but remember you..." She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him closer.

"I can't," he whispered. "Not if it's goodbye."

"Just kiss me." She brushed her lips against his gently and he felt his resistance slip away.

He kissed her.

xXx

Ma-Ti felt tired and faint. The relief he'd felt since leaving Clayton and Main Dog behind had been fleeting. He could feel the panic and anguish of the other Planeteers. He had tried to send out supportive waves to them all but he wasn't sure how much help he had been.

Feeling more miserable than he ever had in his life, he went in search of Gaia. Whenever something was wrong – whenever they were homesick, or arguing, or struggling to deal with anything at all, Gaia had been there to help them.

She seemed to have been expecting him. She was outside, behind The Crystal Chamber, standing in the short grass that grew amongst the thick wildflowers on the hill. He sat down silently and she sat beside him, waiting to see if he wanted to talk or simply sit quietly for a while. He started to cry, but they were silent tears and he didn't seem to want anything but to have her presence nearby.

She knew the others had often underestimated Ma-Ti – she could always see him as the centrepiece, fine threads of love and understanding attaching him to the others and keeping everyone linked together. He had told her once, not long after his arrival, that he felt like an anchor to which four helium balloons were tied.

She smiled at the memory. He _was_ the anchor – without Ma-Ti, the others would all drift away and separate.

And yet, here they all were, drifting apart and he was still firmly anchored, desperate to keep them attached and grounded. It wasn't his fault, though she knew he was feeling increasingly desperate and worried. He was afraid that if the group split, he had failed in his duty somehow.

She failed to find blame with Wheeler or Gi, either. She had recognised their despair and their guilt, and she knew that they would punish themselves beyond anything anyone else could dream up for them. She was simply sorry that her Planeteers were suffering, and for the first time since sending the rings out, Gaia failed to recognise a solution.

Ma-Ti sighed and wiped his eyes, speaking as though continuing a conversation they had already started. "What will happen, if we do go home?" he asked.

"That's up to you, Ma-Ti," she answered gently. "That's a path for you to forge on your own."

He looked doubtful and her heart ached for him. He was still so young. She had caught glimpses of his future from time to time, though nothing had ever been guaranteed. Looking forward in time was like trying to see the bottom of a rapidly-flowing river. Things were distorted and things changed and washed away quickly.

She felt sadness for him now, though. She thought perhaps once Ma-Ti left Hope Island, he'd be forced to sacrifice a great many things. She closed her eyes at the vision of him tearfully handing Suchi over to the Shaman, and she glimpsed office windows and humming florescent lights and photocopiers.

She watched now as Ma-Ti stroked Suchi's fur thoughtfully, the little squirrel monkey sitting quietly on his knee.

She drew in a slow breath. She sensed that Ma-Ti knew that things had progressed beyond _maybe_ or _perhaps_ and had entered the final outcome of _decision made._

Linka wanted to go home.

xXx


	12. Gone

"Linka?"

Linka turned, a small smile on her face. "Hello, Gaia. I was about to come and find you."

"I know," Gaia answered, entering Linka's hut and closing the door. "Where's Wheeler?"

Linka flushed slightly. "I told him I wanted to be alone."

Gaia nodded, and waited.

Linka sighed and pulled the lid of her suitcase closed. "I cannot stay here," she said quietly, her head bowed.

"Are you sure, Linka?" Gaia asked gently. "Sometimes these things –"

"I am sure," Linka said. "I want to go home."

Gaia didn't respond immediately. She looked around Linka's cabin – she had never been inside. Whenever she wanted to talk to the Planeteers, it was in The Crystal Chamber, or outside somewhere. The cabins were territory for the Planeteers, and she had kept a respectful distance without request.

Linka had decorated her walls with photographs and postcards, maps and charts. There were scattered across her wall in a seemingly carefree way, though Gaia knew she had probably thought hard about their arrangement.

Linka was waiting anxiously for Gaia to say something. She was prepared to hear a speech dedicated to talking her out of her decision, but she couldn't see how Gaia could fix this mess.

She had made up her mind and it was easier to simply keep barrelling along on the path to home, and Mishka and her grandmother, than to try and find a solution that could keep the Planeteers together and happy.

What she had told Wheeler was true. She _did_ want to find out who she was when she wasn't the Wind Planeteer. She certainly couldn't be a Planeteer forever, and she was beginning to wonder what she'd be left with when she no longer had the power of Wind or the safety of Gaia's assurances and influence.

"Leave your things, Linka," Gaia said quietly. "If you truly want to go home, I will send you back the same way you arrived here. Everything will go with you."

Linka sank onto her bed, feeling even more defeated, if possible.

"Am I doing the right thing, Gaia?" she asked desperately.

Gaia reached out and placed her hand gently on top of Linka's head. "I can't answer that," she said. She wished she could. She wished she could ease everything for them. She could feel Wheeler's presence within Linka, seeping through her skin and remaining with the Wind Planeteer. Linka, apparently, did not realise just how deep her connection with him was, and Gaia wondered herself how she had missed the bond that had developed between them over the years. She knew it was something that was not going to disappear or be easily broken, and like her glimpse into Ma-Ti's future, she glimpsed Wheeler and Linka.

Flashes of their futures burst and popped in front of her eyes. Tears, and heartache and shame. Wheeler would hit a point so low Gaia closed her eyes and swayed at the thought of it. He would turn to Gi again, needing her help to claw his way up from rock bottom. They would be kept linked together as they shared the guilt of losing the girl they both loved.

Linka would return home, though she wouldn't stay with there with Mishka for long. There was another man coming and he represented the strength and power and independence Linka suddenly craved. She would go with him and it would be a long time before she finally found her feet.

"It's going to be difficult," Gaia whispered, almost unaware she had spoken.

"_Da_, I know," Linka answered miserably.

Gaia wanted to warn her, somehow, about what could be coming if she misinterpreted someone else's strength as a chance to find her own. She wanted to tell Linka to be careful, and safe, but at the same time, she remembered the advice she had given to Ma-Ti earlier that morning:

_That's a path for you to forge on your own._

She was torn. She didn't want to interfere with their lives, but she could sense so much loss and anguish coming for them she doubted she could stand it. _I have already interfered with their lives so much, just bringing them here,_ she thought, tracing her thumb across Linka's brow soothingly. _Perhaps Linka is right. Perhaps they all need to find out what they are without the Planeteers._

"I am tired," Linka whispered. "I cannot think straight, but I need to go home, Gaia."

Gaia brushed Linka's tear-streaked cheek with her fingertips. "I know," she answered softly. "I'm sorry, Linka."

Linka looked up at her in surprise. "You did nothing wrong," she said softly. "Do not be sorry."

"I'm sorry you're suffering," Gaia said. "Perhaps you were all too young when I brought you here."

Linka shook her head. "I would not have swapped it for anything, Gaia," she said, managing a smile. "I am thankful for what you gave us."

Gaia smiled back and Linka sighed and wiped her eyes. "Do they others know?" she asked.

"Ma-Ti knows what is going to happen," Gaia said, nodding. "He's preparing himself to go home."

Linka felt a wrench in her gut. "Could – could they stay?" she asked tentatively. "If they wanted to, could they remain Planeteers?"

"If they wanted to," Gaia said thoughtfully. "But truly, I don't think they'll ask. I think both Kwame and Ma-Ti have realised that the five of you are too connected to survive without one another."

Linka closed her eyes. _Are we so closely connected I will not survive without them if I go home? Will my life without the Planeteers be worse than it is at this moment?_

She sighed. "I should find them," she said. "I should explain why I am sending us all away."

"It's not your fault, Linka," Gaia answered.

Linka went cold. _I know. It's Gi's fault._

Gaia heard her. Though she didn't agree, she didn't bother trying to explain the complicated layers of emotion she could feel from both Wheeler and Gi.

"I'll give you some time, Linka," she said eventually, stroking Linka's hair. "Come to The Crystal Chamber when you're ready."

She paused at the door to Linka's hut, and spoke softly. "Remember," she said, "Water puts Fire out." She gave Linka a small smile. "Wind keeps him going."

xXx

Kwame lay on the dock, listening to the ocean wash against the pylons below. He heard footsteps and opened his eyes to see Ma-Ti standing over him.

"Have they spoken?" he asked softly.

Ma-Ti nodded.

"Are we staying here?"

"No," Ma-Ti murmured. "Though, I think if the rest of us wanted to stay, Gaia would let us."

Kwame laced his fingers together and rested them across his chest, staring up at the grey sky. "There is not much point, without Linka," he said.

Ma-Ti nodded again. "Wheeler is the only one, I think, who truly wants to stay."

Kwame felt a confusing mix of anger and sadness. Wheeler was his friend – his brother. And it was obvious he was in pain, now, and about to lose not only the Planeteers, but Linka as well. At the same time, Kwame wanted to shake him, and tell him that his impulsiveness had finally led them all to a point of no return.

Ma-Ti knew how he felt. He smiled down at Kwame understandingly. "There is nothing we can say. They will punish themselves enough for what has happened."

Kwame just nodded. "I know."

"What are you going to do?" Ma-Ti asked softly. "When you go home?"

Kwame raised his eyebrows in surprise. He hadn't really thought about it. "Return to my people, I suppose," he said. "Perhaps I could try to bring some of my new knowledge to them. Particularly those who have begun farming my region."

Ma-Ti nodded.

"And you?"

"The same," he said, shrugging. "Return to my people. Try to help everyone with what I have learned as a Planeteer."

Kwame hesitated before asking his next question. "What about the others?" he asked softly. "Can you see where they are headed?"

Ma-Ti shook his head. "Gi will be okay, I think," he said slowly. "But – but I have bad feelings about Wheeler and Linka. Particularly Linka."

"Why?" Kwame asked worriedly.

Ma-Ti frowned and rubbed his forehead. "The loss goes much deeper than she realises," he said eventually. "She will not give herself time to deal with it. I can – I can see her trying to replace the Planeteers with someone else."

"Who?" Kwame asked sternly. "We should warn her."

Ma-Ti just smiled and shook his head. "I am not sure. I cannot see. It is likely I am wrong." He looked down at the Earth Planeteer. "Linka needs to make her own choices," he said.

Kwame sighed and got to his feet, clapping his hands gently onto Ma-Ti's shoulders. "We should find Gaia," he said. "The sooner we get this over with, the better."

xXx

Gi had given up trying to think of a way to repair the damage she'd caused. She had tried to rationalise it, but deep down she knew that nothing could justify what she and Wheeler had done. Yes, they had been alone and frightened and in a deep pool of despair and isolation. But they had each chosen to ignore the better side present within themselves and instead turn to their selfishness for a few moments of pleasure and security. There was no avoiding it – they had done the wrong thing, and by coming together the way they had, they had torn everything apart.

She hadn't spoken to Wheeler since they'd arrived home again, but she didn't think there was anything left to say to him anyway. She had hoped he could somehow explain things to Linka, and that he could make it okay again, but Linka had understandably refused to change her mind.

When Gi heard Gaia calling them to The Crystal Chamber, she got to her feet shakily, fighting back a wave of nausea, and headed down the path alone with her head bowed.

xXx

It certainly wasn't far between Wheeler's hut and Linka's, but he was out of breath when he reached her. He collided with her in the doorway and they both went sprawling onto the floor.

She landed heavily and her breath was knocked out of her, but he didn't clamber off her or apologise. She fought for breath as he clutched her, burying his face into the warm curve of her neck.

"Don't," he begged. "Please."

"Let me up," she coughed. "I cannot breathe."

He kissed the side of her throat and helped her up, pulling her to her feet and tugging her against him, wrapping his arms around her.

"You fit perfectly," he whispered, holding her as tightly as he dared. "We belong together – we do. Give me a chance."

She shoved him away. "How many do you need?" she asked angrily. "_Nyet._"

Even in her anger, she couldn't look at him. Heartache was written all over his face and she knew he was truly sorry, but forgiving him seemed too impossible. She didn't want to regret the tender kisses they had shared earlier – the goodbye she had craved – but she couldn't help but wonder if perhaps it had been a bad idea to let him get that close.

"Just tell me," he pleaded. "Do you love me, Linka? If I hadn't done this – if none of this had happened, would I have had a chance?"

She ran a hand through her hair and looked away, out the window at the leaves still dripping from the recent rain. "I love you," she said softly. "It was meant to be us, Wheeler, but that cannot happen now. I do not think I can forgive you for this."

She glanced around her room again, and her eyes rested on him fleetingly. She left him standing there, and after a moment he followed her, his shoulders hunched and a heavy weight in his chest.

xXx

"It's time, Planeteers," Gaia said gently. She felt a great sadness, though she forced it back and hid it beneath a cool, calm exterior. She was sorry that it had ended this way. She was sorry that they were hurting so much. But she didn't know how to mend the broken threads that hung between them.

"Send me first," Ma-Ti requested. His voice was a whisper and he was visibly trembling under the strain of everything. He tugged his ring off and held it out towards Gaia, and she took it into her hand.

"I am sorry, Ma-Ti," Linka wailed. She clutched him tightly, sobbing into his shoulder. He hugged her back fiercely, his eyes bright with tears.

"It is not forever," he whispered into her ear. "We will come back, Linka. I am sure of it."

She sobbed, feeling an awful wave of shame wash over her. She wished she could be as strong as Ma-Ti. He had shouldered so many of their burdens over the past week and remained strong and decent afterwards. Now she was demanding they split and that meant he had to go home as well.

"I am sorry," she moaned again, holding him tightly.

He just shook his head and squeezed her back until gradually she loosened her hold and he slipped away to hug each of the others.

Linka wiped her eyes and watched him hug Gaia. She saw the relief sweep over his face as he felt her calm presence wash over him and embrace him. When she blinked, he had gone.

She moaned and clutched her hands to her mouth, feeling faint. Gaia looked at her in concern.

"Are you ready, Linka?" she asked softly.

Linka shook her head tearfully.

"Me," Gi begged suddenly. "Please. I can't stand it." She looked around desperately at the others. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "It's my fault. I'm sorry." She sobbed and wiped her eyes. "I love you all so much and I'm sorry," she said. She tugged her ring off and thrust it towards Gaia, panicked. "Please," she said. "Now."

Wheeler watched on in horror as the second Planeteer disappeared. He felt as though something was wrapping itself around his heart and slowly squeezing it, preventing it from beating. He wanted to faint. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't stand knowing that the end had come and that he had played such a role in the destruction of the people he loved more than anything.

Kwame stepped forward and hugged him tightly. "Do not blame yourself, my friend," he whispered. "It would have been something else. Some things are just not meant to last."

Wheeler clutched him. "Don't go," he moaned, unable to say anything else. "Stop. Make it stop, please." He wanted Kwame's calm leadership to sweep in and save everyone, like it always did. But Kwame just smiled gently at him before he turned to Linka and embraced her. He could hear Kwame's soothing murmurs and he watched as Linka sobbed and held onto him tightly, apologising over and over again.

Kwame handed his ring back to Gaia and then he was gone.

Linka stared at Wheeler with wide, wet eyes.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I love you and I'll always fight for you, Linka. I'm meant to be with you."

She shook her head sadly and looked to Gaia. "Send me home, please?" she whispered.

Gaia touched her cheek gently. "Be safe, Linka," she said softly.

Linka looked back to Wheeler desperately, and for a moment he thought she was going to say something, and his heart leapt and his eyes widened with hope. He reached for her, wanting to crush her against him and not let her go.

Then, suddenly, Linka was gone. He stared at the space she had occupied just seconds before. He could still smell her perfume, lingering in the air around him. Tears slipped down his cheeks and he felt panicked and trapped. He suddenly realised that all he had to look forward to was a one-way trip back to Brooklyn. Alone.

He looked at Gaia.

"I can't," he sobbed. "Don't make me go back there; please..."

She held her arms open and he buried his face in her shoulder. It was like being in the eye of a hurricane – around him everything was in turmoil, but Gaia's embrace was warm and calm and silent.

"Call when you need help," she whispered.

"Gaia, I can't," he croaked. "Please don't send me back. Let me stay here. I can't go back to that place. I thought I'd escaped it..."

"Shh," she soothed. She eased away from him and smiled, holding his face gently in her hands. She looked at him and he saw a spark of concern in her eyes. "Call when you need help," she said gently.

He blinked, and Gaia was gone and he was face-up on his bed in Brooklyn, with traffic and the rush of people on the pavement outside.

_When. Not if. Call when you need help._

He wiped his eyes and rolled onto his stomach, burying his face in the pillow. _I need it now. I can't be here. Don't make me stay here._

There was no one there to comfort him.

xXx

Linka closed her bedroom door. After the initial flurry her sudden arrival had caused, Mishka had sensed she had wanted to be alone, and she was thankful.

She leaned her back against the door and gazed around at her belongings, all perfectly arranged where they should be. They looked out of place, somehow, now that they were there and not sitting in her room on Hope Island.

She closed her eyes and let tears run silently down her face. With a sigh, she moved towards her bed, shrugging out of her jacket and stretching out on the narrow mattress. She gazed up at the ceiling, fighting the urge to beg aloud for Gaia to call them all back again.

"It is too hard," she whispered to herself. "It hurts too much."

She dug around in her pocket for her handkerchief, and frowned. She drew out a thin sheet of cardboard and blinked at it slowly, turning it in her hand. It was one of Wheeler's playing cards. The Queen of Hearts.

She ran her thumb over its surface and rolled slowly onto her side, propping it up against her alarm clock. She stared at it quietly, for a long time.

Finally, she sighed and rolled over, turning her back on the card. Turning her back on Wheeler, and turning her back on the Planeteers.

xXx


End file.
